Eternal Despair
by Xrangel
Summary: Makoto Naegi fills his classmates with enough hope to move forward. This hope encourages them to face the despair of the world. But Junko expected this to happen. She has a backup plan to fill Makoto with despair. How long will Makoto be able to endure an eternity of despair?
1. Prologue

**So, this fic is kind of a hot mess. I have rewritten this fic in a _much _better way. Please - and I repeat, PLEASE check out "Despair, for all of Eternity". It's basically just this fic but majorly improved. You can find it by going to my profile.**

**Of course, I can't stop you from reading this one. And I won't delete it either - that would be a waste.**

**But just keep in mind that I personally don't think that this fic is up to standards, and that my rewrite is a lot better.**

* * *

Makoto Naegi.

His relentless optimism in practically any situation serves well to encourage those who are around him. In fact, Naegi would say that the only thing extraordinary about him is his bad luck and optimism. Everything else about him could be described as average - his tastes, his hobbies, his looks, and so on.

His official title was the Ultimate Luckster.

But to Junko…

"God, this kid is an Ultimate Annoyance!"  
Before The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, Junko must have played hundreds of various tricks and pranks on him during the school years in order to try and get him to despair. She would have done almost anything to see Naegi suffer even an ounce of despair. But no matter how many cruel things she does to him, he had always bounced right back and forgiven her.

Once, Junko had literally set his dorm room on fire.

_On. Fucking. Fire. _

Doing something like that would cause any _normal _person to hate Junko. She knew this from experience - she had ruined many relationships, both business and casual by setting those things on fire. It was one of her 'pranks' that she almost never got bored of. But when she tried it on Naegi...

"It's okay Junko. At least no one got hurt!" Naegi smiles softly at her, shooting at the high flames in his room with a fire extinguisher.

"What?! I set your room on fire! Don't you hate me? Aren't you despairing?" Junko groans dramatically, facepalming. He had to feel at least _some _despair!

"Well, nothing really important burnt up." Naegi gestures to a corner in his room. There, piles of various papers and objects lay. He had gotten them all out of harm's way before the fire could get to them. "It's okay. I forgive you."

…

This was stupid.

* * *

Hope's Peak Academy had been transformed into a safe sanctuary for the students. How ironically despairing would it be if it becomes a place where the students meet their end? Just the very thought of seeing these symbols of hope murder each other was enough to send shivers down Junko's spine.

Junko giddily hugs herself, smiling like a lunatic. This was the pinnacle of her career! Soon, the whole world will feel despair.

The plan was great. She had everything set up but there was still one issue.

_Makoto Naegi. _

Even if he gets trapped in a killing game, it wasn't certain that he would despair. She needed him to experience full despair for this plan to be satisfactory.

But how would she do that? Naegi was mentally strong and always spread hope among his fellow classmates. That was the most annoying part of him - Not only was the luckster himself filled with hope, but he also filled the people around him with hope.

Luckily though, Junko had a special plan for Naegi.

Using the talents of Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Hope, as well as the talents of some of her followers like Kazuichi Soda and Yasuke Matsuda, she managed to create the greatest tool for despair ever!

The world's first time machine.

Of course, it isn't a typical time machine. Instead of allowing someone to travel through time, it _forces _someone to travel through time.

In other words, an imposed time loop. And Junko had the perfect target in mind for this time loop.

Fingering the remote, Junko giggles to herself. The remote in mention was the only controller in all of Hope's Peak that could open the gigantic lock on the front door. However, Junko had modified it to double as a coordinator for her time loop machine. If everything went to plan, Naegi would be the one who ends up pressing this button.

"Hehehehehe! Let's see how long Mr. Hope lasts when he's forced to play this Killing Game for all of eternity!"


	2. Act 1, Chapter 1

_"You've seen the true sides of Hope and Despair."_

_"..."_

_"Do you think you can answer it now?"_

_"Yes. Yes I can."_

_"Which is stronger?"_

_"Hope can be easily transformed into Despair. The more Hope you have early on, the more Despair you get later. That is, if you turn into Despair at all."_

_"That doesn't answer my question."_

_"Hope is much stronger then Despair."_

_"..."_

_"But only at the beginning."_

* * *

_Act One_

_Hope Incarnate_

_"Finally... We were finally free. But there wasn't even time to take a breath of relief. Because the real fight had just begun..."_

_\- Makoto Naegi_

* * *

**The 1st Killing School Game.**

The conveyor belt halts to a sudden stop.

The incredibly large compactor stalls.

Below said large compactor, Junko Enoshima was hugging a Monokuma robot while waving to the other surviving students. She was the mastermind - the genius teenager behind the Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy. The Ultimate Despair, Ultimate Fashionista, and the Ultimate Analyst.

Makoto Naegi, Kyoko Kirigiri, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Toko Fukawa, Aol Asahina, Byakuya Togami...

Even Junko Enoshima herself, in her battered state was kept in suspense.

Would the _'After School Lesson' _fail again? Naegi had already escaped from the execution once before. It wasn't impossible to think that it Junko could escape either.

...

_*BANG!*_

The resounding smack as Junko Enoshima was reduced to nothing more then a red splatter answered them.

Nope. Junko was dead, this time for good.

All that remained was a handheld remote with a large red button - presumably the remote to open the front door.

The Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy was over.

* * *

The surviving students quickly and silently made their way to the entrance where the giant lock awaited them. There was no time to delay - as Junko had said, the air purifiers had already shut down. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

For a moment, they all just stood in front of the locked door in silence. To no one's surprise, it was Kyoko who broke the silence.

"We can't just stand around like this forever. At some point we need to leave." The detective states in her usual cool demeanor.

"Makoto, would you like to do the honors?"

"A-Alright..." Makoto grasps the remote with both of his hands, staring at it as if he was unsure on what to do.

"B-But...is that really it? Is that really the key to this door...?" Asahina stares anxiously at him.

"You don't have to read into what she said too much to find the answer." Kyoko says listlessly.

_I will force you out_, _ensuring you all die horrible deaths in the outside world._

"But you never know... Maybe it's actually a switch that's gonna make the school self-destruct! I mean, Junko never said specifically that she'd let us leave here alive!" Hagakure grasps his head with both of his hands in a panic.

"I suppose that's possible."

"IT IS?!" The clairvoyant starts sweating bullets.

"Even if there's a possibility of that happening, it would be stupid to not take our chances with it anyway." Byakuya rolls his eyes at Hagakure's stupidity. It was useless to start worrying about this kind of stuff at this point.

"Kyeehaha!" Genocide Jill laughs maniacally as she brings out her scissors. "There's nothin' to worry about! If something ever happened to Master, I'd take my scissors and jam 'em so far up- Achoo!"

"... Huh? W-Where am I? Wh-Where's the courtroom? Weren't we fighting against t-the m-mastermind?" Toko frantically looks around, confused.

"It's all over. We're just about to leave the school..." Asahina quickly informs Toko of their situation.

"We can l-leave?!" Toko steals a lustful glance at Byakuya. "T-that means that me and M-master can finally get married?!"

"Not in a million years." The affluent prodigy sneers distastefully.

"I would gladly wait a million years for you, my Master!" Instead of being dejected, Toko takes the insult in stride.

"Anyway..." Kyoko clears her throat. "Don't worry. I have no doubt that we'll be able to leave here without a problem."

"Yeah, it's just what happens _after_ we get outside that worries me." Asahina frowns.

"B-But you know... In the end, I...! I think a part of me still thinks..." Hagakure starts.

"...maybe, when we get out there, we'll see that everything she said about the world was a lie. That on the other side of this door...is a world as peaceful as we remember. I know that sounds dumb, but..."

Makoto smiles at Hagakure reassuringly. "Well, no matter what it looks like, it's still our world. It's where we're meant to live."

"I guess..."

"And...how do I put this? Unlike this school, the world is really big, right? Since it's so big, I'm sure there must be some despair no matter what. But there also has to be lots of hope...right?"

"The act of searching for hope, to try and find it-that by itself is the true meaning of hope. As long as you have that hope, you can keep moving forward no matter what trouble you may fall into." Kyoko smiles gently at Makoto. "Is that what you meant?"

"Yeah, that's the general gist of it."

"Hmph. Rest assured that I, Byakuya Togami, will rebuild this world from scratch if need be. Once I get out of here, I shall see to it that Togami Dynasty shall return to its former glory."

"When I get out of here, the first thing i'm going for is a donut shop! I'm getting myself hundreds of donuts!"

"Erm, there might not be any donut shops around if it's an apocalypse out there." Hagakure comments.

"Well I'll make my own donut shop!"

"Come on, Makoto. Even if everyone in the outside world is gone... Even if the world is steeped in despair... As long as I have people like you around, I can face forward and keep moving. If we can get out there and do something, have some sort of impact..." Kyoko interrupts with a touch of impatience in her voice.

Makoto nods.

"Yeah. It's time... It's time that we move forwards!"

All at once, the banter stops and the remaining students at Hope's Peak Academy turn to the door.

Despair...

The world ahead is undoubtedly filled with despair. But in between the cracks of despair, seeds of hope are surely planted. These seeds of hope will grow into something bigger, something greater!

_I'm going to keep moving forward, with hope in my heart._

_Since I have hope, I can show courage._

_Since I have hope...I can move ahead._

_The world...can move ahead._

Makoto Naegi presses the button.


	3. Act 1, Chapter 2

**The 2nd Killing School Game.**

Pain.

This is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

_What... What's happening to me?_

The last thing he had remembered was pressing the remote to open the lock to the outside world. He and his friends had stopped Junko Enoshima and escaped Hope's Peak.

Then, as sudden as it came, the headache stopped. All that remained was a subtle feeling of drowsiness.

He had been sitting down on a wooden desk with his head burrowed in his arms.

Slowly and deliberately, Makoto raises his head from his arms.

He was in a familiar room with bolted windows. In the room, there were several desks and a security camera. A small string of drool had been going down the side of his mouth.

"What the heck? I'm still in the school?"

This didn't make any sense. Why would he still be in here?

_Unless... Was that all just a dream?_

Cautiously, Makoto checks his desk. Sure enough, there was a cheap looking pamphlet on it.

_"The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."_

"The same pamphlet from when I first woke up..." Makoto mumbles to himself.

_I better see if I can find anyone else._ Makoto thinks to himself, walking out to the hallway.

"Hey! Kirigiri? Asahina? Hagakure? Any of you guys out here?" Makoto calls out while walking around.

No response.

_Maybe the main hall? The door should still be open..._

As Makoto walks into the main hall, something causes him to stop abruptly.

"W-Wha..." The luckster stammers at the sight in front of him.

Everyone was there, standing around nonchalantly.

"Oh hey! Another new kid!" Mondo walks up with his hand raised in a greeting. Mondo had been executed by Monokuma - electrocuted and melted, he had turned into butter and eaten by the sadistic bear over a pile of pancakes.

All 14 of them... are still alive?

"H-How is this possible...?" Makoto's face was as white as a sheet, as if he had just seen a ghost.

Or rather, 9 ghosts.

"Huh? Something wrong?"

Slowly, Makoto turns his gaze to Maizono. The last time he saw her, she was sitting down on his bathroom with a knife stuck to her stomach. She was most definitely dead, murdered by Leon Kuwata.

And yet...

Here she was, smiling softly and waving her hand at Makoto.

This was too much. Makoto's eyes rolled up his head as he promptly fainted.

"Woah, hey!" Mondo stumbles back as he watches Makoto fall onto the ground.

"Did he seriously just faint...?" Leon scratches the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable.

"Makoto?" Sayaka quickly walks up to the unconscious luckster and kneels down to him. "What's wrong with him?"

"Huh? Do you know this kid?"

"Yeah. We... We went to junior high together. His name is Makoto Naegi." Sayaka says as she stands back up again.

Mondo scoops up Makoto and puts him over his shoulder in a fireman carry. "I'll hold on to him until he wakes up I guess. Sheesh, what a pain..."

* * *

"Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?" Mondo furiously steps in front of Monokuma.

Monokuma had just finished explaining the rules of the Killing Game to the students - They will be forced to live here forever, unless they decide to murder each other.

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Oh? Have one of our students died already? I'm super impressed!" Monokuma cackles gleefully as he notices that Mondo was still carrying the unconscious Makoto. "Such bloodlust!"

"FUCK YOU!" Mondo roughly puts Makoto's body down on the floor and picks up Monokuma with one arm.

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever but either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!"

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" Monokuma cries out while flapping his short arms and legs.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise comes out of the bear.

"Huh? No smart-ass comeback this time?"

_*BEEP.. BEEP.. BEEP.. BEEP.. BEEP.. BEEP..*_

"STOP BEEPING AND SAY SOMETHING!" Mondo roars.

"Watch out!" Kyoko suddenly shouts. "Get rid of it! Now!"

"Huh?"

_*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*_

"Throw it already!"

Mondo hesitates slightly before nodding and throwing Monokuma far up into the air.

_*KABOOM!*_

No less then 3 seconds later, a giant explosion manifests from the thrown Monokuma, sending shockwaves throughout the gym.

"Ah!" The sound of the giant explosion was enough to get Makoto out of his faint spell. "What's going on? What was that?" Makoto looks around frantically.

"The hell!? Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..." Mondo gapes up at the air as small fragments of the bear fall down.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Byakuya sneers at Makoto.

"Is that... Smoke? What happened?"

"That dumbass bear blew up, that's what happened!"

"Hey this means the teddy bear is dead now... Right?" Chihiro pipes up hopefully.

_*__Boing!*_

A cartoonish sound effect echoes through the gym as another Monokuma springs up out of nowhere.

"I told you already! I'm not a teddy bear, I'm Monokuma!"

"Another one?!" Leon backs up as far as possible from it.

"Son of a bitch! It just tried to kill me!" Mondo clenches his fists hard but refrains from attacking Monokuma again.

"It's happening... again?" Makoto whispers to himself.

_This was the exact same situation as last time! Why is this repeating?_

Makoto puts his hand up to his chin as he ponders this, not paying attention to the scene happening in front of him.

_This is too real to be a dream... Were we captured and put into this situation again? Wait, no. Junko is definitely dead. So why..._

"Makoto, you have been keeping quiet. Aren't you shocked about our situation?" Kyoko's voice suddenly breaks up Makoto's thoughts.

"Huh? O-Oh. You mean the killing game right?" He says nervously.

"H-He must be plotting to murder someone!" Toko shrieks and points at Makoto "It's me isn't it! Y-Y-You all hate me anyway! Don't get near me!"

"A lie, is what it is. All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!" Ishimaru declares. Despite trying to sound confident, large beads of sweat were dropping down his forehead.

"Y-Yeah!" Hagakure frantically nods his head in agreement. "Obviously a joke, a prank! Nothing here is real!"

"Idiots, all of you." Byakuya scoffs, unperturbed by the troubling circumstances.

Makoto was as worried as everyone else, but for entirely different reasons.

* * *

"I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Stop! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto steps in between Byakuya and Mondo once again.

Of course, the luckster knows that Mondo was going to punch him if he interferes. But maybe he could use this knowledge to his advantage.

"The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch?" Mondo snarls, cracking his muscles. "Get outta my way you fainting pansy! The fuck you think you are, my dad?"

"T-That's not what I'm trying to say here..." Makoto puts his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"FUCK YOU!" Mondo roars and swings his arm.

_*Whiff!*_

Makoto pulls back before Mondo could punch him, dodging his attack cleanly.

"Ugh! Fuckin' bastard!" Mondo tries winding up another punch but before he could, Sakura holds his arm back.

"That is enough." Sakura says with a dangerous aura. "This is no time to be fighting."

Being lectured face to face with Sakura was enough to placate Mondo. "Whatever..."

Sakura turns her attention to Makoto. "Nice dodge. I didn't expect you to have such quick reflexes, to be honest."

Makoto chuckles awkwardly. "Thanks, I guess."

_It's all happening exactly the same..._

* * *

"I'm really sorry to come by so late..."

Makoto stares at Sayaka who was standing in front of his room. Her body was trembling and her face was deathly pale.

"Sorry to bother you but... something w-"

"Please be honest with me, Sayaka." Makoto interrupts her and stares into Sayaka's eyes.

"H-Huh?" Sayaka's eyes fill with panic. "Makoto I-"

Suddenly, Makoto grasps both of her hands, causing Sayaka to gasp.

"Sayaka, there's no need to be so desperate! Please... don't do this."

"My pop idol group was on the motive video... I... I need to check up on them. I have to get out of here!"

Makoto pulls Sayaka into a tight embrace.

"...!"

"We will get out of here. I promised you before."

_Why? Makoto knew that I was going to kill someone... But he still trusts me? I don't deserve this!_

"I... I was going to kill someone and frame you for it."

"I know."

"If you know why are you still so trusting towards me?!" Sayaka angrily pushes Makoto away.

"If you knew I was going to kill someone then... then you shouldn't be so trusting! In fact, you should hate me!"

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto points to Sayaka.

"I shouldn't hate you! You're my friend! I want to help you, Sayaka. I don't care if you were going to frame me or not. I know that you don't want to kill anyone Sayaka. Killing someone would just be what Monokuma wants!"

After this, Sayaka started feeling the full weight of her guilt. Had she really been planning to kill someone and then frame this innocent boy?

_I'm disgusting._

"I used you... I didn't even hesitate to put your life in danger..."

Makoto shakes his head.

"If you were truly using me, then why didn't you aim to kill me instead of Leon? I would have been a much easier target."

Sayaka gasps.

"Sayaka, you are my friend. I only wish the best for you. That's why I promise... I promise that we will get out of this mess together!

...

"How did you know?" Sayaka quietly asks, avoiding eye contact.

Makoto smiles gently. "I'm an esper."

"What? Really?" Sayaka's gaze suddenly snaps back to Makoto.

"Just kidding. It's just intuition."

"What do you mean in-" The pop idol's mouth suddenly snaps shut as she realizes what Makoto was referring to. "Oh."

Makoto smiles sheepishly. "Bad timing?"

Sayaka hesitantly returns his smile. "No... Thank you, Makoto. I'll get back to my room now.

"Good night! See you tomorrow, Sayaka."

"Good night."


	4. Act 1, Chapter 3

_*Ding dong, bing bong*_

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beeeeautiful day!" Monokuma raises his arm lazily, a martini in hand.

"Ugh." Makoto grunts as he pulls himself out of bed. He had convinced Sayaka to not resort to killing so there shouldn't be a dead body to be discovered today. Maybe going back here was a second chance to save everyone this time around!

_I will try my hardest to save all of my friends. _

_*Knock Knock Knock*_

A sharp knock puts Makoto on pause. No one knocked on his door last time he experienced this... Who could it be?

_Probably Sayaka..._ Makoto thinks to himself as he opens the door. And sure enough...

"Hey Makoto!" Sayaka greets him with a smile. "Wanna walk to the cafeteria today?"

Makoto nods. "Sure thing!"

_She's alive. Now, to make sure that everyone else stays alive. Last time around, Junko killed her sister - Mukuro._

As Makoto walks to the cafeteria, he sighs as he realizes the large task ahead of him.

_The Ultimate Despair, Mukuro Ikusaba..._

* * *

"S-So, to make sure I understand... If we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong...all the rest of us get...executed?" Ishimaru stammers.

"Yep! Remember this when the first murder inevitably happens!" Monokuma guffaws, dancing on the table.

Makoto observes this scene playing in front of him. This was happening again, despite there not being a murder this time around. So if things kept consistent, Mukuro will be tricked and killed by the real Junko.

Mukuro won't die this time though. Not on Makoto's watch.

"W-Wait, hold on a second!" Right on schedule, Mukuro starts to protest against Monokuma. "You're freaking insane, you know that?"

"Hm?" Monokuma tilts its head quizzically, jumping off of the table.

"What the hell is a class trial? I want nothing to do with that!"

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not!? Why would I want to try to figure out a murderer with my own life on the line?"

"What!? Are you saying that you're gonna rebel against the headmaster!? Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!"

As the two argue, they start inching closer to each other. Unbeknownst to them, Makoto starts inching closer to Mukuro as well. No one noticed this as everyone was to busy observing the argument unfolding in front of them.

"What? Punishment?"

"I might...I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something!"

"Shut the hell up! Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of your game!"

"Don't be so selfish!"

"You're the selfish one! Kill whoever you want, I won't be a part of this!"

Monokuma extends some claws from his paws and takes a menacing pose. Or, it would be menacing if the robot bear weren't so tiny.

"I won't give in to such rebellion! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! If you really wanna get out of here..."

"You'll have to go through me first!" Monokuma finishes with a dramatic flair.

As he said that, he came charging at Mukuro, one eye glowing red. Although it was more of a waddle...

But then...

_*Smash!*_

"Uwahhh!"

Mukuro traps Monokuma beneath her boot.

"Enjoying yourself now?" Mukuro smirks with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"No, but I will soon!"

"Huh?"

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

_Now!_

Right as Monokuma finishes his sentence, Makoto rushes forwards and shoves Mukuro as hard as he could.

"Hey! What's the big..." Mukuro's sentence dies in her throat as she sees what she had just been spared from.

Dozens of spears, reaching up from the floor stabbed up into the empty air that Mukuro had been standing in just seconds ago.

_What...?_

"Run, Mu - I mean, Junko!" Makoto shouts at her. "He might try to kill you again!"

Mukuro didn't move however, still glued to the ground. For once in her life, her mind moved sluggishly, not able to process what just happened.

_Did Junko just try... to kill me?_

_And Makoto saved me?_

"You!" Monokuma turns its attention to Makoto. "How dare you interfere with a punishment! Why, just for that I might execute you instead!"

"No. No where in the rules does it say that Makoto can be punished for interference with an execution. Punishing him would break your rules." Kyoko states in a quiet yet commanding voice.

"Grrrrr..." Monokuma stares at Makoto with malice. For a second, everyone thought that Monokuma might kill Makoto anyway. But then, unexpectedly...

"Puhuhuhuhu... Sure, sure! This may be more interesting anyway! I won't even try to kill '_Junko'_ over here!" Monokuma waddles towards the exit, still giggling to himself.

"Next time though, I will DEFINITELY kill the rule breaker!"

And with that, Monokuma leaves.

...

...

...

"So... care to explain, Makoto Naegi?" Byakuya breaks the tense silence.

"Huh?"

"How did you know to push Junko away? I saw you moving closer to her even before Junko attacked Monokuma. You clearly knew what was going to happen." Byakuya glares at Makoto suspiciously.

"I... uh, gut feeling?" Makoto chuckles weakly.

"Gut feeling? Of course a plebeian like you would try a worthless excuse like that. Do you hone-"

"Shut up! Makoto just saved someone's life! That's better then anything you've ever done in your life! Stop pushing him!" Asahina fumes.

"Please." Byakuya rolls his eyes. "Makoto here knows something that we don't."

"So what? He still saved Junko's life! It's not like Makoto did something evil!" Asahina argues.

Byakuya scowls. "How are you so sure that it's Junko that Makoto really saved?"

"Huh?"

All of the students looked at Byakuya, confused. All of the students, that is besides Makoto, Kyoko, and Mukuro herself.

"Don't tell me that you all missed the sarcastic tone that bear used when saying Junko's name?"

"Monokuma was probably just trying to mess with us. That's definitely something he would do, right?" Asahina says uncertainly.

"Guys, can we give Junko some time to recover? I'm sure she can explain after some time." Makoto walks up to Mukuro who was still sitting down on the ground and offers her his hand.

"Fine. But I expect a full explanation." Byakuya sneers and turns away to walk out of the gym."

"M-Master! Wait for me!" Toko quickly runs to catch up to Byakuya.

Makoto walks over to Mukuro and offers her a hand.

For a second, Mukuro stares at Makoto's outstretched hand as if unsure what to do. After some time though, she decides to take it.

"... Thanks."

"No problem!" Makoto flashes his signature smile.

"..." Blushing slightly, Mukuro quickly looks away.

For the whole time that Mukuro had been attending Hope's Peak, there were really only 2 people that she had cared about - Her little sister, Junko, and her classmate, Makoto.

Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Luckster. The boy who smiled at her. For some reason, whenever she was around Makoto, her heart started beating faster and she started stumbling over her own words. His smile, filled to the brim with hope, always made Mukuro feel warm inside.

Junko had always called her a disappointment of a sister. Despite this, Mukuro still remained loyal to her - she knew deep down, Junko really loved Mukuro. Surely, Junko just wanted Mukuro to feel the same despair that she had always been obsessed about. Junko just wanted the best for both of them. They would always stick together, no matter what.

At least, she always thought that they would stick together.

_Junko betrayed me... But Makoto saved me._

_What do I do?_


	5. Act 1, Chapter 4

_Mukuro Ikusaba was one half of the Ultimate Despair - the brawns of the group. Obviously her sister, Junko Enoshima, made up the brains of the group. Together, with Junko's analytical prowess, and Mukuro's Ultimate Soldier talents, they made a formidable team. The twin sisters - The Ultimate Despairs._

_Despiate all of this, Despair was never the first thing on Mukuro's mind. While she did feel Despair from doing horrible acts and watching the world burn, it didn't make her feel as good as how Junko felt. _

_She was not doing this for despair - she was doing this all for Junko._

_Junko, her beloved little sister. Mukuro felt that Junko was the only one in the world who understood and loved her and in turn, Mukuro felt as if she were the only one to understand and love Junko. Whenever Junko gave her the slightest bit of attention, it felt like as if she were on cloud 9._

_ Everyone else saw Mukuro as a tool, waiting to be used. That is what comes with being the Ultimate Soldier after all - Countless organizations and groups sought her talents. She was always wanted for assasinations, protection, escorts, etc._

_Those who did not see Mukuro as a tool simply saw her as a threat instead. They shied away from her, always looking uncomfortable when Mukuro was anywhere near them. She was treated as if she were the Ultimate Murderous Fiend rather then the Ultimate Soldier._

_For her whole life, she was an outcast. The only person she could talk to was her own Despair loving sister, Junko Enoshima._

_Until she met Makoto Naegi, that is._

_It was during the first week of Hope's Peak Academy._

_"You're Mukuro... Right? The Ultimate Soldier." Makoto Naegi had been exchanging introductions with his classmates. "Junko mentioned you were her sister."_

_"... Mukuro Ikusaba. Ultimate Soldier." Mukuro confirms with a nod of her head as she introduces herself in her usual listless tone. She didn't think that introductions were necessary. Everyone was just going to ignore her again anyway._

_"I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student."_

_Mukuro gasps as Makoto delivers a shining grin to the soldier. This was the first time that someone had genuinely smiled at her. Usually, she only sees nervous smiles or smiles that are just meant to be polite._

_"I hope we can get along!" _

_For a moment, Mukuro didn't know what to say. None of the training she had taken could have prepared her for this._

_"... T-Thanks. I... hope we can get along too." Mukuro stammers with a slightly flushed face._

* * *

"You're Mukuro... Right? The Ultimate Soldier."

As soon as everyone else dispersed, Makoto dragged Mukuro to his room so that they could talk privately.

As soon as Makoto asked this, Mukuro was instantly put on guard. If he had known that Mukuro even existed, then his memory was probably not completely erased. This could pose problems to the Killing Game.

_I should report this to Junko as soon as..._

Then, Mukuro remembered that Junko was just about to kill her.

_Maybe I should hear him out then._

"How did you know?" Mukuro sighed and took her giant wig off. Beneath it, a clean bobbed haircut was revealed.

Makoto laughed awkwardly and scratched his chin. "Um, I don't think you would believe me if I told you."

Then, faster then anyone could blink, Mukuro took her combat knife out and held it up to Makoto's neck.

"Tell me. How did you know?" Mukuro says in a dangerously quiet voice. Of course, Mukuro didn't intend to hurt Makoto, but she really wanted to know how he knew about her plans. On top of apparently avoiding the memory erasure, he had known enough about Junko's plan to save her life.

"Ok ok!" Makoto stammered, clearly flustered. "Can you... erm, put the knife away first?"

"... Fine."

Makoto took a deep breath and sat down on his bed.

"I... I think I time traveled?" The luckster offered a sheepish grin.

...

"This isn't the time for jokes." Mukuro glared at him while inching her hand back to her knife

"No! It's not a joke! I swear it's the truth..."

...

Mukuro sighs and sits down next to Makoto, shifting the bed down.

"Prove it then."

"How?"

"Tell me something that will happen in the future."

_Something that will happen in the future..._

What would happen in the future? Now that Mukuro and Sayaka are alive, the future should have been heavily changed at this point. There aren't many things that are guaranteed at this point.

"Well, I'm not sure if this will happen but... Sakura Oogami will be forced to be a mole for Monokuma."

Mukuro raised a brow. "You aren't sure?"

"Well I changed the future by preventing the deaths of you and Sayaka. That could mean that stuff I saw happen won't happen at all, right?"

"You saved Sayaka?" This was news to Mukuro. Was a murder supposed to happen recently?

"... Before I time traveled, she was going to attempt to murder Leon. But it would have gone wrong, and she would end up murdered instead. Thankfully, I managed to convince her to not resort to killing this time around."

Mukuro shakes her head in disbelief. "This is completely absurd. Though I suppose there's no other explanation on how you knew Junko's plan."

With that said, Mukuro stands up and makes her way to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to think up of an excuse. You _did_ promise that I would explain everything to the others, after all."

"Oh, right." Makoto scratches the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

Slamming the door shut, Mukuro leaves without a response.

* * *

"Are you finally ready to explain what happened?" Byakuya readjusts his glasses as he glares coldly at Mukuro.

Mukuro decided that the best course of action was to build a small lie on top of a partial truth. She couldn't think of many plausible lies that could explain how Makoto knew to push her out of the way. Obviously, she wouldn't be able to explain time travel to a skeptic such as Byakuya.

"My real name is Mukuro Ikusaba. I... I was an acquaintance to the mastermind, the one who trapped all of you in here.

"You're saying you are one of the people who forced us to do all of this?!" Leon steps forward. "Then let us out of here already!"

"That might be troublesome. Only the mastermind has the remote to open the front gates."

"My, what a convenient excuse." Celeste holds her hand to her mouth as she giggles to herself.

"Man, you guys know that none of this was real in the first place right?" Hagakure laughs loudly, ignoring the pointed looks of everyone else around him. "I mean, those spears that shot out of the floor were probably made out of plastic or something!"

"Fucking idiot..." Mondo cracks his knuckles menacingly.

"Here's the obvious question. Who's the mastermind?" The gamble, along with everyone else looks at Mukuro expectantly."

"... I don't think Monokuma would let me tell you."

As if Monokuma had been waiting for the perfect time, a notification suddenly beeps from the student E-Books.

Makoto glances down and reads the new rule...

_Mukuro Ikusaba is not allowed to divulge confidential matters._

"Oh, that's a load of bullshit!" Mondo swears angrily.

Bykauya clears his throat. "Is it safe to assume that Makoto was a third accomplice?"

"W-What?" Makoto stammers.

"No. Makoto had nothing to do with this." Mukuro says with certainty.

"Oh?"

Now, the lie comes in. Mukuro had an excellent poker face. In fact, it was one that may rival the masks of Kyoko and Celeste. She had stood against entire armies by herself with a straight face. Surely she would be able to tell a small lie to a couple of teenagers.

"Makoto only knew to push me out of the way because I told him to. I knew that the mastermind was planning to backstab me when I was told to kick Monokuma in that specific spot."

"You knew that she was going to betray you but you went along with it anyway?" Kyoko stares into Mukuro's eyes, as if she was challenging her.

"I didn't want to believe that he would kill me. Even now, I still don't want to believe it. I told Makoto to push me anyway though."

Mukuro shrugs her shoulders. "It was just in case."

"Is this true?" The detective shifts her attention to Makoto.

"Uh, yeah!" Makoto laughs nervously. "It's true!"

Inwardly, Mukuro cursed him for being so obvious. Mukuro may be able to lie decently, but he was always terrible at telling lies. From the corner of her eye, she notices Sayaka narrowing her eyes at Makoto, but thankfully she doesn't say anything.

"Hmmmm. Well if Mr. Naegi insists, then I suppose Mukuro is being truthful!" Hifumi puffs out his chest obliviously. "I will place my full trust in him!"

"Idiot." Byakuya scoffs. "If he is telling the truth, then he probably wouldn't be sweating bullets right now."

That was true. Makoto always started to get nervous when telling a lie, fidgeting around and sweating.

"I would rather trust in someone like Makoto then trust in someone like Byakuya anyway."

"Yeah dude! Naegi is way nicer then Toges."

"From what I've seen, Makoto is an upstanding student!"

"... If Asahina trusts in Makoto, then I see no reason to doubt him."

Despite Makoto's horrible acting, most of the classmates decided to place their trust in him anyway. Even the smarter ones like Kyoko and Sayaka didn't raise any objections.

"Hmph. Don't blame me when all of you get murdered then." With that said, Byakuya moves away from the group, scowling to himself.

"M-M-Master Byakuya is ri-right!" Toko grumbles, stalking after Byakuya. "Makoto w-will try to kill one of y-you next!"

"Sheesh. That chick's got serious issues." Mondo shakes his head slowly.

"Um.. H-Hey Mukuro?" Unexpectedly, it was Chihiro who spoke up. "S-So, if you aren't Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista... What _is_ your Ultimate Talent?"

Mukuro looks at Makoto hesitantly.

"I think you should tell them." Makoto says, nodding.

...

"I'm... I'm the Ultimate Soldier." Mukuro says simply.


	6. Act 1, Chapter 5

"Hey hey hey! I've noticed that there is an extreme lack of KILLING so far! I guess your closest friends and family aren't as important as the life of a couple strangers, huh? I guess I should prepare the next motive for you ungrateful kids! Report to the gymnasium at once!"

Monokuma's annoying voice echoes through the PA system.

"Aw man, what now? The tapes were bad enough..." Leon complains while scratching his head.

Sayaka involuntairly shivers as she remembers the motive videos that almost drove her to murder.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asks worriedly as he notices her darkened expression.

"... I'm fine."

"My fortieth sense is telling me that this is definitely bad news! But we have no choice, do we?" Hifumi growls to himself as he clenches his fist.

"Forty...?" Asahina shakes her head. "No way you have forty senses! Humans are supposed to only have 5!"

"My true power completely transcends the human norm..."

"Whatever the dumb bear throws at us, we can handle it. Right bro?" Mondo and Ishimaru were already making their way torwards the gym.

"That is correct, bro! Our bro bond is unbreakable!" Ishimaru heartily agrees as he marches onwards.

"You know dudes, it's kind of scary how much they get along now." Hagakure lets out a nervous chuckle. "I mean, they used to hate each other!"

"We can discuss that later. For now, we should probably hurry to the gym before Monokuma gets impatient." Sakura's low voice echoes throughout the cafeteria.

And with that, all of the discussion was put on hold as the remaining students made their way torwards the gym.

* * *

"By the way, before I get started, since this is the second motive, I decided to be a good bear and open the second floor to you kids!"

"Ooh! Really?" Hagakure pipes up in excitement.

"I'm such a generous headmaster aren't I? You kids have fun exploring after this!"

"The second floor..." Byakuya muses to himself.

"Anyway, I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets!" Monokuma dances around on his podium as the second motive is revealed.

_Secrets..._ Makoto thinks to himself. Last time around, Mondo had accidently killed Chihiro because of these secrets. Not necessarily because he didn't want his secret to be revealed, but because of the emotional trauma the secrets had created within him.

"And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here... I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!"

As Monokuma spoke, he tossed the envelopes at the floor. Makoto quickly snatches the envelope with his written on it. Sure enough, _Makoto__ Naegi wet the bed until he was in the 5th grade _is written on there.

Even though he knew what was on it, a blush still made its way up his face.

"How'd you find out about this?!"

"H-How?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

Various exclamations arose from the students as they read their deepest darkest secrets.

"You have 24 hours! If someone doesn't become blackened by then...all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassingest secrets will be exposed to the world! Maybe I'll blast these secrets on loudspeakers in a public street! Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma guffaws as he rubs his paws together in glee.

"..." Mondo doesn't say anything, but Makoto notices that his face had turned unnaturally blue.

"No way anyone would murder over something like this! Your plan is doomed to fail, Monokuma! In fact, I suggest that we all lay out our secrets right now! I'll even start us off!" Ishimaru quickly straightens up and clears his throat.

"MY SECRET IS THA-"

"Oh, shut up you plankton." Byakuya rolls his eyes as he interrupts Ishimaru. "Do you really think that I would tell any of you plebians my secret?"

Ishimaru takes a step back as his face contorts into shock. "W-What?"

"I concur." Celeste interjects. "I'm afraid that telling this secret to anyone would be impossible."

"Well it's just human nature to wanna hear it when you say it's impossible! Let's hear it!" Yamada starts breathing heavily.

"No."

"Come on, you know you wanna!"

"No."

Salivating, Yamada inches closer to Celeste.

"C'mon C'mon C'mon..."

"I SAID NO ALREADY YOU BAG OF LARD!" Celeste snarls as she points her metal finger at Yamada.

"EEEEEEEEK!" The otaku hastily retreats, squealing in terror.

"Umm... I-I agree. I do-don't really want to talk about this right now..." Chihiro looks down, ashamed.

"W-Well, that's okay, then. Either way, if it's just a few secrets, I'm sure nobody's about to kill anybody over it." Ishimaru says with a clear look of disappointment in his face."

_*ding dong bing bong*_

Shortly after, the night time announcement plays.

_"Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight!"_

"Night already, huh? Alright, I'll just call it a day then..."

"S-Same here..." Sayaka walks off, grabbing Makoto on her way. "Let's go Makoto!"

"H-Huh?!" Makoto stammers while being dragged by Sayaka.

"Oh? Mr. Naegi being dragged off by the teen idol? I wonder what kind of stuff they're planning to do?"

"You're weird dude..."

When the two got out of sight of the rest of the students, Sayaka let's go of Makoto and quickly shoves her envelope into Makoto's hands.

"Wh-"

"Take it. I didn't open it."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because I don't want to be overcome by the urge to murder anyone anymore!" Sayaka snaps.

...

...

...

"Sorry... I'm just a bit flustered. But you are the only one I can trust right now... Please, just take it. Read it if you want, Burn it, I don't really care." Before Makoto could respond, Sayaka swiftly runs into her room and closes the door.

"Sayaka..." Makoto mutters to himself before going into his own room.

Makoto looks at Sayaka's envelope with hesitation.

_Should I read it...?_

In the end, curiosity won over caution.

...

...

_Sayaka Maizono caused the suicide of a rival pop star._

* * *

Makoto Naegi was currently eavesdropping.

"S-Seriously? Jesus..." Mondo's voice carries itself from the boy's changing room to the lockers.

"Y-Yeah... Sorry about lying to you..." That was Chihiro. Her tiny voice was barely audible, even with the door slightly open.

"... But, why now? Why are you telling me this all of the sudden?

"Huh?"

"Cuz like, you kept this a secret all this time, right? If anyone found out..."

"...I want to change. I wrapped myself in lies. I'm weak. I want to destroy that version of me forever!" Chihiro's voice starts picking up as she explains her reasoning. "I need to change! Your so strong that Monokuma's motive couldn't possibly hurt you, right? Thats why..."

"... So what, you're saying I should just say it?" Makoto's heart starts beating faster and faster as Mondo's tone drops dangerously low.

"Huh?"

"You're saying that if I really am strong, I should tell everyone? I'm strong? Are you fucking with me right now?!"

"I'm not making fun of you Mondo... Y-You really are strong."

"What did he want me to do? What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to just sit back, let my secret get revealed, and ruin everythi-"

This was it. Makoto couldn't let things get out of hand. Taking a deep breath, Makoto barges into the changing room.

"Mondo!"

"What the?" Mondo spins around in shock.

"Ah! M-Makoto!" Chihiro squeaks.

"What the hell are you-"

"Remember Daiya! Would he have wanted you to act like this? Don't pretend like his death was a murder! He wouldn't want you wallowing in self pity all the time! You are strong, Mondo Oowada! Don't let your emotions overpower you!"

"D-Daiya...? What... What the hell do you know about what he would have wanted...?" Mondo growls, stepping torwards Makoto.

Makoto shakes his head. "I was not as close to him as you are. Clear your head and ask yourself. Ask yourself what he would have wanted."

...

"Tch. Whatever... Chihiro, I'll... talk to you tomorrow, okay?" Mondo shuffles out of the changing room with a scowl on his face.

_How the hell did he even know about Daiya? Whatever..._

"Ah jeez. Hopefully I didn't offend him... Are you okay Chihiro?"

Upon hearing his name, Chihiro tenses up.

"Um... Makoto... About all of this I-"

To Chihiro's shock, Makoto shakes his head. "You don't need to say anything. See you later, Chihiro."

With a reassuring smile, Makoto leaves the changing room as well, leaving Chihiro to himself.

"Mondo..."


	7. Act 1, Chapter 6

"God damnit, God damnit, God damnit!" Monokuma stomps the floor several times, ignoring the astonishment prevalent on everyone's face.

"Even when I threaten you people with secrets, no murders happen?! Gah, you kids are insufferable!"

"Haha!" Ishimaru raises his hands. "I told you! We won't be killing anyone, Monokuma!"

"Shut up you brat!" Monokuma snarls. "Fine then! I'll just take pleasure in revealing your secrets!"

At the mention of this, everyone tensed up. Here was the moment they've been dreading! While most of them were nervous about what was about to happen, no one could deny feeling morbid curiosity about the secrets of others.

"First up... Makoto Naegi!"

"Great..." Makoto groans to himself.

"You know, Makoto is so innocent looking. He probably doesn't even have a dark secret!" Asahina chuckles and smiles and Makoto.

"Well on the flip side, his innocence could just be a mask, no?" Celeste smiles and puts her hands to her chin. "Perhaps he harbors extremely dark secrets."

"Enough jabbering! Anyway... DRDRDRDRDRDRDR..."

"Is he seriously making a drum roll noise?" Hagakure scratches his head.

"Makoto Naegi wet the bed until he was in the 5th grade!"

...

...

...

"Seriously?" Leon smirks. "That's pretty embarassing dude."

Everyone nodded in agreement, laughing to themselves.

"H-Hey!" Makoto protests, fighting to keep his embarassment to a minimal.

"It's rather impressive that this was the most Monokuma could dig up though..." Kyoko smiles softly to herself.

"Yeah! Naegs really is pure!" Hagakure laughs and gives Makoto a thumbs up.

"Anyway..." Monokuma clears his throat. "Next up, Kyoko Kirigiri!

Everyone quickly went silent. What kind of secret could the mysterious Kirigiri hold?

"Our little detective here has a serious case of amnesia!"

"Huh? Amnesia?" Makoto glances at Kyoko.

"... It's true." Kyoko concedes. "I don't even know my talent."

"Dang, that must be rough! If you want though, I could use my clairvoyant powers to uncover the tru-"

"I'll pass." Kyoko deadpans.

"Ah dang." Hagakure mutters to himself in a downcast expression.

"Anyway! Kiyotaka Ishimaru's grandfather, Toranosuke, was a Prime Minister who got caught in a bunch of scandals! It ruined the Ishimaru's family reputation!"

"Woah, really? I think I've actually heard about that before!" Yamada comments.

"Bro..."

"Fret not! I will not let such frivolous matters distract me!" Ishimaru says reassuringly.

"Chihiro Fujisaki is a male." Monokuma says in a monotone voice. "Next up, Yasuhiro Haga-"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Yamada screeches.

"Hey fatty! Don't interrupt me here!" Monokuma glares at Yamada with an evil look.

"Impossible!"

"Is she... he really a boy?"

"No way that's right!"

Everyone was shocked at this, save for Mondo and Makoto. Even Kyoko showed some surprise.

"I-It's true..." Chihiro confirms, sniffling. "I was always bullied for being a weak person, even though I'm male... So I just decided to dress as a girl so that no one could make fun of me..."

"Chihiro..." Mondo gives the programmer a sympathetic look.

"Well as I was saying before someone INTERRUPTED me..." Monokuma continues. "Yasuhiro Hagakure is in serious debt with the Yakuza!"

"Heh, yeah..." Hagakure laughs awkwardly to himself.

"Hmph. Of course an idiot like you would end up like that." Byakuya smirks and pushes his glasses up.

"H-Hey! Don't call me that..."

"How much in debt, Hagakure?" Leon asks curiously.

"Oh... Y'know, like 8 million yen..."

"WHAT?!"

"Moving on... Toko Fukawa is Genocider Jill!"

...

"EEEEEEK!" Toko screeches and burries her head in hear arms.

"Or was it Genocider Jack... Genocider Shou?" Monokuma looks at the floor and scratches its head.

"Huh? Doesn't she pass out at the sight of blood or something? How could a chick like her be a serial killer?" Mondo questions.

"Perhaps it's an act?" Sakura suggests.

"Genocider Syo, maybe...?"

"Hmph. It's true. Toko herself informed me and showed me sufficient evidence."

"M-Master Byakuya!"

"I'm not gonna even ask what this proof was..." Sayaka shakes her head.

"Let's just say that our favorite writing prodigy here has a split personality! Puhuhuhuhu!"

"Split person-"

"Mondo Oowada caused the death of his brother!"

"W-What? Bro?" Ishimaru snaps his head torwards Mondo, shocked.

"M-Mondo...?" Chihiro gapes at the biker.

"It... was an accident!" Mondo clenches his teeth.

"Oh puh-lease! No excuses!"

"So we have more then one murderer in our group..." Byakuya smirks.

"Shut up, asshole!" Mondo roars while cracking his knuckles.

"Next up, Hifumi Yamada once plagarized someone elses fanfiction!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'M SO ASHAMED! PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEE!" Yamada collapses onto the floor, banging his fists.

"Well, it isn't the worst thing in the world, is it?" Asahina asks, tentatively.

"N-No! If this gets out, my whole reputation will be trashed!" Yamada moans dramatically.

"Ahem! Celestia Ludenberg's real name is Taeko Yasuhiro!"

"..." At this, Taeko flinches almost imperceptibly.

"Huh?" Hagakure scratches his chin. "Yasuhiro?"

"Yes... That's my true, boring name. I ask that you all keep calling me Celeste. This won't be a problem, right?" Celeste smiles sweetly but everyone noticed a dark aura coming from her.

"Aoi Asahina is insecure about her femininity!"

"Eep!" Asahina blushes.

"Hina... Is this true?" Sakura stares worriedly at her.

"Wh-What? H-How could someone with HER body be insecure?" Toko growls and points at Asahina.

"It's just that... Most girls tease me and say that I act like a boy, being an athlete and what-not..."

"Do not worry, Asahina. I will protect you from any insults." Sakura eyes the rest of the students with malice.

"N-No objections here!" Hagakure laughs sheepishly and backs up.

"Yeah! Won't hear a single peep." Leon scratches the back of his head.

"Sayaka Maizono, the sweet idol that everyone adores, caused the suicide of a rival pop idol!"

At this, Sayaka visibly flinched and clenched her fists.

"S-Suicide?" Leon gapes at her, clearly dumbstruck.

"I... remember. I never wanted anything like that to happen..." Sayaka takes a shuddering breath and lowers her head.

"It's okay, Sayaka. You don't need to talk about it." Makoto quietly soothes her.

"N-No. I... I insulted her a bunch, stomped on her hopes and dreams. But I had no idea that being an idol meant so much to her... If, If only I could go back and stop myself!" Sayaka cries desperately.

"W-Wow... To think that such a sweet looking girl could do something like that! Perhaps Sayaka is distant relative of Tae- I mean, Celeste?" Yamada suggests, pushing up his glasses.

"Shut it, Yamada!" Asahina snaps, causing Yamada to cower in fear. "AIEEE! I'm sorry!"

"Ahem! Leon Kuwata is in a romantic relationship with his cousin!"

"Oh come on..." Leon facepalms.

"Your cousin?" Makoto asks, curiously.

"That's pretty gross, dude." Hagakure shakes his head.

"It really isn't like that! She just comes off really strongly..." Leon moans, covering his face.

"I mean, whatever floats your boat I guess." Mondo shrugs, apparently not as bothered as everyone else.

"Ooh! We are down to the last three people! Mr. Fancypants, Ms. Rulebreaker, Ms. Ogre!" Monokuma chuckles heartily.

"Hey! Don't call her that!" Asahina protests furiously.

"Ms. Ogre - er, Sakura Ogami is a mole for the mastermind! And by that, I of course mean she's working for me!"

"WHAT?! That's a lie! Right Sakura?" Asahina objects and looks at Sakura for confirmation.

"... It's true." Sakura admits simply.

"What?!"

"No way... Sakura is a traitor?" Mondo gasps in surprise.

"Don't say that!" Asahina jumps to defend Sakura. "She was probably forced to!"

"... My family dojo was taken hostage. Originally, I was supposed to start the killing game by murdering one of you. However, when the time came, I refused to do so. So he told me that he would expose me to everyone if I didnt kill anyone by the time the motive ran out." Sakura explains in a low voice.

"I had my suspicions of a mole in our midst. I suppose this confirms it." Byakuya comments smugly.

"Well, she didn't really do anything so is it really that big of a deal?" Hagakure asks, sweating nervously.

"Well I for one, forgive her. She didn't have a choice after all." Makoto speaks up. "I mean if anything, revealing this means that Sakura really isn't working for Monokuma anymore."

"Y-Yeah! Makoto is right!" Asahina smiles gratefully at Makoto.

"Idiots. It's like you all are asking to be killed."

"Don't get too smug! Byakuya Togami, you're up next!" Monokuma cackles gleefully as he watches Byakuya tense up.

"Byakuya is a bastard! An illegitmate child!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" The clairvoyant questions, confused.

"It means that his parents weren't married when he was born." Kyoko explains.

"That's just the part of the process on selecting a heir to the Togami name." Byakuya scoffs defensively.

"I mean, I don't think it's THAT bad... It just means that his daddy was probably a frisky one!" Yamada's glasses started to steam up as he wiggles his fingers in a creepy manner.

"Shut up you perverted, disgusting, dirty excuse for a human being. You are just plankton. No, actually you are worse. The billions of plankton living in the sea are kings compared to you. You're just an idiotic pervert with no dignity. I think it would be better for everyone if you just ended up dead in a ditch somewhere, fucking plebian, scum of the earth. I feel nothing but sympathy for your parents as they probably felt nothing but morbid disgust and disappointment the minute you were born. You aren't fit to lick the dirt off of the soles of my boot. In fact, you are so grossly negligent that I wouldn't let you lick my boots even for a trillion yen, you dumb reptile."

...

...

...

"Sorry..." Yamada seemed to have shrunk a thousand sizes as he slowly aplogizes.

"Jeez, who pissed in his cornflakes this morning? Anyway... Last but not least, Mukuro Ikusaba!"

Everyone turned their head at Mukuro who was standing alone at the corner. She had not uttered a single word during the entire process.

"Hm, I wonder what an Ultimate Soldier would have for a secret?" Hagakure says in a creepy tone. "Maybe it's her kill count! I bet it's in the thousands!"

"P-Personally, I think that it would be something about her relationship to the mastermind." Chihiro comments.

"Huh?" Leon scratches his head. "But we already know she worked with him!"

"Mukuro Ikusaba..." Monokuma starts, rubbing his paws.

...

...

"Has a HUGE crush on Makoto Naegi!"

...

...

...

...

...

"Huh?" Makoto couldn't believe it. This had to be a lie, right? How could someone like Mukuro have a crush on him of all people?

"My my, is Mukuro a tsundere after all?" Yamada asks, seemingly having recovered from Togami's insults.

"Ooooh! Mukuro has a crush on Naegi? That's so cute!" Asahins gushes as she alternates glances between Makoto and Mukuro.

"... I-If that's all, I'll be leaving..." Mukuro mumbles as she fights off the blush on her face.

"Haha!" Hagakure smacks Makoto on the back. "I never knew you were a ladies man, Makoto!"

"N-No way that's true..." Was all Makoto could say as the rest of his classtmates teased him.

"Awww, isn't this cute? Well, those were all of the secrets! Class dismissed! Go gossip or do whatever it is you kids do." Monokuma snickers and turns around.

"Oh yeah, the third motive is coming up soon. As per usual, I have opened up the next floor. Have fun!"

And with that, Monokuma swiftly makes an exit.

* * *

...

...

...

Mukuro Ikusaba was furious. How could Junko do this to her?!

She wasn't even this mad when Junko had almost killed her. The comparison between embarassing her and attempted murder was not even close, yet Mukuro was more upset with embarassment.

"Ugh... Now, Makoto will hate me..."

_You're plain, sis! _

_There's no way anyone would want to be with you!_

_All the boys hate you, ya know._

Junko's words ring in her ears. This was all true... She was super ugly compared to Junko...

_*knock knock knock*_

"Huh?"

A series of knocks suddenly breaks Mukuro out of her stupor. It was nearly night time... Who could that be? A potential attacker?

Bracing herself for a possible killer, Mukuro opens the door and...

"Ah!"

"?!"

Mukuro gasps as Makoto falls harshly into her room.

"Go get em, tiger!"

"Good luck!"

As her door closes, she could hear the voices of Leon and Hagakure laughing.

"Ow... sorry about this, Mukuro. They just kind of... forced me in here." Makoto laughs awkwardly, rubbing his head.

"..." Mukuro kept a silent, composed face. There's no way she would let anyone break her mask again.

Not even if that "anyone" was Makoto.

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about something anyway. About what happened back when Monokuma revealed the secrets..."

"Ah!" Mukuro's silent, composed face instantly breaks as she looks away, face completely flushed.

"That proves it, right?"

...

"Huh?" Mukuro looks back at Makoto, confused.

_What does my secret prove...?_

"Monokuma said that Sakura was a mole... That proves I traveled through time, right?" Makoto looks at Mukuro expectantly.

Oh.

"I... I guess so..." That was actually the thing furthest from Mukuro's mind at the moment.

Mustering up the courage, Mukuro decided to bring up her secret. It was now or never. "Makoto... about what Monokuma said about me..."

"Oh! Don't worry about it. Monokuma was probably lying, right? The mastermind probably just wanted to embarass you in front of everyone as a sort of revenge for betraying him or something, right?"

...

...

...

"Um, sure."

* * *

***A/N*: Decided to add a bonus scene since I forgot about Makoto's prediction**


	8. Act 1, Chapter 7

"Hey there Naegs! Wanna take a bath with me?"

Hagakure had popped this question out of nowhere as soon as Makoto got out of his room.

"Ahhh! Hagakure, what are you doing outside of my room?!"

_The morning announcement had literally just played. Just how long has Hagakure been waiting there?_

"Don't worry about it!" Hagakure says cheerfully as he pulls Makoto into a tight hug. "Just come on, take a bath with me! Just us two guys, whaddya say?"

Suddenly, Hagakure whispered into Makoto's ear -_ "Meeting in the changing rooms. Everyone else is there too."_

Now that Makoto had thought about it, this had happened last time as well. They had been hiding Alter Ego from Monokuma, but he somehow knew about it anyway. But since there was no way Makoto should know this, he should probably go along with it for now.

"Erm... Sure! I feel like taking a bath anyway..." Makoto says, laughing nervously.

"That's the spirit! Let's go, Naegs!"

* * *

Instead of letting Makoto following him, Hagakure practically dragged Makoto all the way into the changing rooms, ignoring Makoto's protests.

"We're here!" Hagakure yells, shoving Makoto into the changing rooms.

"Ack!" Unfortunately for Makoto, the speed Hagakure had been dragging Makoto combined with the sudden push was a bit to much for his legs to handle.

"Ow..."

Makoto could practically feel everyone staring at him as he slowly got up.

"Glad that you finally came to join us." Byakuya says with a smirk on his face.

"The morning announcement had just played... How did everyone know to come here so quickly?"

"Haha! Yeah thats my bad dude!" Hagakure laughs sheepishly while rubbing his head. "I passed notes to everyone but forgot to make one for you!"

"You mean I was the only one to not get a note...?" The luckster groans as his bad luck plays out once again.

"Sometimes, I seriously doubt your supposed lucky talent..." Mondo comments.

"U-Um, anyway... Since everyone is here, I'd like to show what I've been working on... It might help us get out of this school!" Chihiro nervously speaks up.

"Go ahead and show us already. I'm bored..." Leon sighs while leaning against the lockers.

"Hey!" Mondo steps up, facing Leon. "Be patient and just let him do his thing, will ya?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"No need to delay now that Makoto has joined us." Kyoko smiles patiently at Chihiro.

"R-Right!" Chiniro turns around and opens one of the lockers that he had been leaning on. "So, I found a broken laptop a couple of days ago and I had recently repaired it..."

"A laptop?" Kyoko speaks up. "I remember seeing one in the library earlier."

"I've been wondering where that went..." Byakuya muses.

"Y-Yeah! Um... Without further ado, I would like to present..." Chihiro opens the laptop and presses the power button.

"The artificial intelligence, Alter Ego!"

...

"Oh, so many faces! Hello!" Alter Ego pipes up.

...

...

...

"Huh? Is that..."

"Why is your face on it?"

"Oooh! A virtual girl!"

"What is this?"

"U-Um... Can I explain...?" Chihiro, who was clearly getting flustered by all of the comments tries to rise her voice in order to explain further. Unfortunately, the programmer was drowned out by everyone else.

"Hey! Are you really an AI?"

"Imteresting..."

"SHUT THE HELL UP, ALL OF YOU!" Mondo, who had been keeping quiet since Alter Ego was presented, finally shouts out.

"JUST LET HIM FUCKIN SPEAK, HUH?"

...

"T-Thanks Mondo..." Chihiro clears his throat .

"Alter Ego is a deep learning AI. Meaning that none of its responses are pre programmed. E-Essentially, it's like talking to a real person."

"So, how would this AI help us get out of here, exactly?" Byakuya asks with a skeptical look.

"I've tasked it to decrypt some files that were on the laptop. If there's something important hidden there, then it could p-potentially help us!"

"Oh my... This 2D girl is amazing! I'm on fire!" Yamada pumps his fists in the air in excitement.

"Dude, it's a guy... And a computer program."

"Anyway..." Chihiro interrupts Yamada's banter. "I suppose I can let Alter Ego explain. You can communicate with it through typing."

*click clack*

** Explain your purpose. **

"Yes, master! You had tasked me with analyzing the massive number of files on this laptop." Alter Ego explains in a cheerful tone.

"I believe the files are related to the school, but the protection on them is surprisingly strong. So it's taking me a little longer than I thought. But as Master had explained to me, the fact that the files are protected so tightly means they must contain some important information."

** How much time before you finish decrypting the files? **

Alter Ego's avatar frowns slightly. "I'm not sure, but I'm trying my best! It may take another couple of days, at the least."

Celeste nods approvingly. "Using the AI to handle the workload? Smart choice. An AI can work faster and harder then any human, after all."

"And don't worry about the mastermind finding Alter Ego! I've got a secret plan all ready, just in case... Alter Ego can see what's going on using the built-in webcam, so if anyone suspicious shows up... I've programmed it to scream real loud!"

"That's a pretty basic plan." Mukuro deadpans.

"It's actually a fine plan during the day, but what about night? Our rooms are sound proofed." Byakuya pipes up.

"Once nighttime comes, I'll leave the door to my room open. Then there's no way I can miss Alter Ego yelling." Kyoko volunteers.

"Huh? Won't that leave you vulnerable?" Hagakure looks at her nervously.

"I'm not as weak as you may think. I won't go down without a fight." Kyoko smiles confidently.

Makoto looks at the detective in awe.

_No matter how many times I see it, I'm always amazed by her..._

"Hey, since Mukuro worked with the mastermind, couldn't she help decrypt that stuff a lot faster?" Leon speaks up from the back of the room.

...

"That's a surprisingly good point..." Celeste comments.

"Suprisingly?!"

"I would, but I'm afraid that if I were to spill out all of these secrets, Monokuma may interfere. The mastermind would want things to be as fair as possible." Mukuro sighs as she explains things.

"Hmph. Excuses, excuses." Byakuya takes a deep breath.

"First of all, Monokuma shouldn't even know of the existence of Alter Ego yet. There are no cameras here. Why can't you just type information to Alter Ego? Second of all, why would Monokuma care about things being fair? This may be a game, but it's one he has complete dominance over. He even lets himself add rules to his liking whenever he wants."

"I suppose you will just have to trust me on this, but Monokuma definitely knows Alter Ego is here. Besides, didn't you see the rule Monokuma added specifically to handicap me?" Mukuro calmly counters Byakuya's arguements.

"Eh?! Monokuma knows about Alter Ego?!" Chihiro puts his hands over the laptop protectively. "How?"

"I suppose Monokuma knows because there are two traitors here." Byakuya glares at Sakura and Mukuro.

"I have severed my ties with Monokuma." Mukuro says with a straight face.

"It is the same for me." Sakura booms, returning Byakuya's glare.

"And I should trust that because...?"

"Hey! Mukuro was almost killed by Monokuma! Of course she wouldn't be working for it anymore! Plus, Monokuma already revealed that Sakura was a traitor to everyone! Why would Monokuma do that if Sakura was still a traitor?" Makoto argues.

"Hmph." Byakuya scowls but doesn't argue the point.

"If the mastermind really knows about Alter Ego, then..." Chihiro gulps anxiously.

"Then there isn't much we can do about it. For now, all we can do it wait for Alter Ego to finish his work." Kyoko says, not deterred in the slightest.

"So, should we get going?" Asahina asks.

"Indeed." Sakura takes her leave with Asahina trailing behind.

"Goodbye! We'll be back, I promise!" Yamada drools as he waves goodbye to Alter Ego.

"C'mon, Hifumi... Don't be a creep." Hagakure shakes his head.

"O-Okay..."

And the students all leave the dressing room.


	9. Act 1, Chapter 7 and a half

"We were just talking about going to the bathhouse. We have not had a chance to relax in some time." Celeste tells her lie cleanly.

"...Huh?"

"But unfortunately, the bathhouse is not divided into men and women sections. So we decided to do rock-paper-scissors to decide which group would go first. Hina won the match for us, and that is why we are all so pleased."

"Y-Yeah, that's right! Speaking of which..." Asahina nods frantically.

"Okay, boys! Why don't you head on back to the dining hall or something? We're gonna take a nice, long bath!"

"Ahhh, jeez, what're ya gonna do, right!? We lost, fair and square!" Hagakure goes along with the lie, feigning defeat.

"Well, ladies? Shall we go?" Celeste didn't hesitate coming up with the ruse, and her poker face didn't even flinch. So she and the other girls headed back into the dressing room.

"Nuts and dammit! We totally lost! Another day without getting to take my very first bath here!" Yamada moans dramatically.

"Yeah, but...tomorrow for sure! You'll definitely get that bath tomorrow!" Hagakure pats Yamada on the back reassuringly.

"Hey hey hey! This is the perfect chance for you young bachelors to get a peek, ya know?" Monokuma's face turns red as he rubs his paws together.

_Not this again..._ Makoto shakes his head.

"You're absolutely right!"

"I thought you were all about the 2D..."

"All of you need to shut up, sit down, and listen to what I have to say... An opportunity like this doesn't come along very often... It's the ideal setting of a man's fanta-"

"No." Makoto deadpans.

"Wha-"

"I'm actually gonna go and grab a meal in the dining hall. You two have fun."

* * *

_10 minutes later..._

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRYYYYYY!" The sound of Yamada's screech fills up the room.

"I'M INNOCENT! MONOKUMA FORCED US TO DO IT!" Hagakure's voice quickly follows.

Makoto sighs as he sees Yamada and Hagakure, both with some new bruises, run into the dining hall.

And right behind them...

Mukuro, Sakura, and Asahina, still wrapped in their towels, chasing the two boys with murderous glints in their eyes.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PERVERTS!" Asahina screams, running after them.

"I will not forgive these indecent acts!" Sakura adds.

Mukuro doesn't say anything, instead focusing entirely on the targets ahead of her.

_I'm surprised that they are managing to outrun these girls..._

"So, they really were peeping on all of you?" Makoto asks, nonchalantly.

"Huh? You knew about it?" Asahina, along with Sakura stop running and glance at Makoto.

"Monokuma told us to do it, but I didn't really expect them to go with it... Especially since the Ultimate Soldier was in there as well."

"Well those PERVERTS really did go through with it!" Asahina sighs and shakes her head.

"If nothing else, I'm glad that you kept your dignity." Sakura gives an approving smile.

"Yeah..." Makoto blushes slightly as he remembers peeking on the girls the last time this happened.

"Now then Asahina, shall we catch up to Mukuro?"

"You bet! She might need backup! See ya later, Makoto!"

"See ya..."


	10. Act 1, Chapter 8

"Come on, out with it. What's the motive this time?" Byakuya crosses his arms while scowling at Monokuma.

The students of Hope's Peak are all at the gym, called by Monokuma for what is presumably a third motive. Despite there already being two, no one had been killed thus far. Of course, this was thanks to Makoto Naegi. Being a time traveler has its perks after all.

"Are you all ready for this? Puhuhuhu!"

"Shut up! There's no way that any of us would try to kill anyone!" Asahina objects, not noticing how Sayaka had flinched.

"Indeed," Sakura nods pridefully. "We shall beat any motive that you give us."

"This may be the best one yet!" Monokuma raises his arms and cackles giddily. "Puhuhuhuhu!"

_*Fwup*_

The sound of countless numbers of bills fill the gym.

"BOOM! ONE BILLION YEN!"

...

"One billion smackaroos for the lucky student that graduates!

...

"Enough to set you up for a life time!"

...

"Hey, why isn't anyone saying anything?"

...

"Not enough."

"Huh?"

"A billion yen? Please. I can make that much in a single week" Byakuya grins pridefully.

"Yes, I make plenty of money from gambling..." Celeste covers her mouth as she giggles to herself.

"To put a price on human life... Disgusting." Sakura glares at the monochrome bear with contempt.

"Oh get off your high horse! Ya know you want it! Anyway, feel free to discuss the latest motive together! Au revoir!" Monokuma gives off one more laugh as he dissapears - "Puhuhuhuhu!"

"I-I say that we tie up anyone with money problems!" Toko shreiks and points at Hagakure.

"Wh-What?!" Hagakure waves his hands in a panic. "I wouldn't kill someone just to pay off my debt to the yakuza!"

"S-Shut up! You're definitely going to murder someone!" Toko hisses.

"Oh, come on! There's no way I'm the only one here with money problems! Right?"

"Well," Makoto starts. "I'm by no means rich but I have enough to get by."

"I have made hundreds of millions off of gambling."

"Armies all over the world look for mercenaries to hire."

"I can make as much as I need to with baseball! I'm even on some trading cards!"

"I am often hired to solve cases."

"I make plenty from my music shows..."

"Sports magazines pay me to model their gear!"

"People get in line to buy my manga!"

"A-All of my books are bestsellers!"

"Me and my gang make plenty from winning bike races."

"Ha! I am a dilligent worker! Why, I had been working four jobs at once before coming here!"

"I win martial arts tournaments all around the world."

"I often get hired by companies that want to upgrade their cyber security..."

"You are all beggars compared to me."

With each sentence, Hagakure's face turns paler and paler.

"... W-Well, I still wouldn't stoop so low as to murder someone..."

"Money is certaintly the obvious choice for motives... It's a golden standard in both the real world and in mystery novels." Kyoko comments, hand on her chin.

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"_

"10 already, huh?" Asahina yawns tiredly. "Alright, I'm going to my room."

"Okay, okay, let's everyone just head back to our rooms! And don't think about that whole money thing! Got it? Good! Then let's break!" Hagakure claps his hands together and runs off to his room.

"He is SO murdering someone..." Toko mutters under her breath.

Makoto walks back to his room, formulating a plan to stop Celeste.

_Despite what she says, it's obvious that she wants the money... She killed Yamada for it after all. So how should I stop her plan?_

* * *

"Ahhhhh! Someone helllllpppp!" Yamada screeches in fear.

"Hifumi, what's going on!?" Makoto questions Yamada with a tinge of worry in his eyes.

Hagakure had invited Makoto to another "bath". Somehow, he had forgotten to make a note to give to Makoto... again. So Makoto ended up being the last one to arrive to the changing room... again.

"Mr. Naegi! Save me! I've never asked you for anything, but I'm asking now!"

"Wh-What happened...?"

"Sh-She's trying to kill me...!"

Yamada runs up to Makoto and points at... Kyoko.

_Oh. I almost forgot that Yamada falls in love with the AI._

"I never said that I was going to kill him. I'm simply asking him why he made the same mistake twice."

"H-Huh? What did Yamada do...?" Asahina asks anxiously.

"He snuck into the dressing room in the middle of the night and accessed Alter Ego without permission. And when I caught him last night he was hugging the laptop and breathing strangely."

"Wh-What were you doing!?" Sayaka glances at Yamada with a disturbed expression.

"I thought I made myself clear yesterday, but since being subtle didn't work I suppose I have to clarify myself further..."

"Hyaaaaaah! Please don't kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you-merely instruct you."

"Ngh...gh!" Yamada puts his hands up to his face in fear.

"Um, Hifumi...could you tell us what happened?" Makoto pats the otaku on the arm.

"I-I mean, you see... Talking to her was just...so much fun! And I j-just..."

"Whoa! Okay, time out! I can't even believe I'm about to ask this, but... Hifumi...you're not gonna tell us you...fell in love or something, are you?" Hagakure asks, clearly disturbed,

"Hah! That I, the cold-blooded killing machine of the underworld, would ever fall in love!? That's..." Yamada pauses as his face slowly contorts into shock. "Wait, is this love?!"

"I happened to do a psychic reading for a certain famous CEO once and that guy was seriously madly in love with a mannequin. He had a wedding and everything! And your eyes just now... I saw the same look in HIS eyes!" Hagakure had backed up as far as possible from Yamada.

"Shut up! She's not a mannequin! She's an ANGEL! And don't bother telling me angels exist! What we have can't be def-"

"S-Stop it!" Chihiro intervenes, stepping between Yamada and the laptop. "Don't you DARE act all creepy like to my Alter Ego!"

"Eeek!" Yamada screeches.

"Ha! Well said dude!" Mondo laughs approvingly.

"If you k-keep acting like a creep to Alter Ego, then I'll... I'll program him to hate you or something!"

"AIEEEEEE! No! Please, anything but that!" Yamada drops to his knees. "She's the only girl to ever understand me! She didn't call me weird or disgusting when I told her about my hobbies... She acted interested!"

"Alter Ego was not interested in who you *were*. it was interested in what you *knew*. It is an artificial intelligence. It exists to learn. Of course it wanted to hear about information it did not know. You are an expert in many things Chihiro could not have taught it about, for what that is worth. Alter Ego wants that information-that is all." Celeste states bluntly.

"... I-I know that. But still."

Chihiro shakes his head, apparently disgusted. "Mondo... I know this might be to much to ask, but can you try to make sure Yamada doesn't keep lusting over Alter Ego?"

"No problem, bro!" Mondo cracks his knuckes menacingly. "I won't let him hog him!"

"... I'm afraid I cant let you do that. I can't withdraw... Mr. Owada... Since I have this opportunity, let me say this right now... Destiny has bound me and her together in the Gordian Knot of true love!" Yamada screams, pointing a finger at Mondo.

"Yamada! I must ask that you calm yourself! It is not appropriate for students to do indecent acts, especially against a computer!" Ishimaru states sharply.

Meanwhile, Makoto observes this with interest.

_So it's Mondo instead of Ishimaru this time?_

"Stop bein' a creep dude! Wanna get smashed?"

"I punch at the speed of light! I won't yield to your threats!"

"That's enough. Yamada, Alter Ego belongs to Chihiro. I ask that you stop sneaking out to talk with him, lest the master mind finds out."

"B-But, the mastermind already knows!"

Kyoko shakes her head. "That is not for certain. It is better to be safe."

"Yeah! So stop creeping on him!" Mondo slams his fist into his palm.

Sakura assumes a menacing stance as she stares down at Yamada. "If you want to disturb our peace, you will have to get through me as well."

"Until Alter Ego has finished his work, don't do anything weird. Have I made myself clear?"

"Y-Yes..." Yamada stares at the floor dejectedly, dragging his feet as he exits the changing room.

"Phew... Thanks guys..." Chihiro lets out a sigh of relief.

"Ha! No problem, bro."

"I'm kind of worried about Yamada to be honest..." Hagakure speaks up, defending him. "Falling in love with an AI is bad news!"

"You're right." Kyoko nods. "That's why we have to stop him from interacting with it."

"After all, it's possible that his delusions could lead to the first murder."

* * *

***A/N*: Updated the amount Monokuma is offering in response to doomqwer's review. Thx for pointing it out!**


	11. Act 1, Chapter 9

"Oh hey Mondo! What are you doing up this late?"

Makoto had been waiting for a while in the hallway, just outside of Ishimaru's room. Last time, Ishimaru had been baited by Yamada's note, so Makoto had been planning to tail Ishimaru.

"Sup, Makoto? I just got some note saying that they found a way out of here."

At this, Makoto's blood freezes. Why did Mondo get the note instead of Ishimaru?

"H-Huh?" Makoto stammers, trying to keep cool. "Um, if that's the case, can I come with you?"

_Wait a minute... This time around, it was Mondo who was primarily opposing Yamada, not Ishimaru... Dang! Why didn't I realize this sooner? _Makoto berates himself for not coming to this conclusion earlier.

"Sure! Let's go." Mondo cheerfully agrees and beckons with his hand.

* * *

As Makoto and Mondo enter the equipment room, a small gasp can be heard from behind the door.

"Crap!"

"Huh? Oh, hey Yamada. Did you get a note too?" Mondo turns torwards him with a grin.

"Oh, uh yeah... Mr. Naegi! Y-You came here as well?" Yamada hastily changes the subject. He had been holding something behind his back. A large sheen of sweat was visible on his forehead and he was shaking nervously.

"Yeah... Yamada, what are you hiding behind your back?" Makoto asks with an edge of accusation in his voice. Of course, Makoto had known that Yamada was only expecting one person. He reasoned that if two people show up, he would be a lot more hesitant to go through with murder.

"Huh, now that you mention it... What the hell is that?" Mondo glances at Yamada suspiciously.

"U-Um, T-That is... W-Well you see..." Yamada starts fidgeting, backing up against a wall.

Suddenly, Mondo's eyes bulge out. "Holy crap! That's one fricking huge hammer! Why the hell do you have that?"

"Wait a sec... Don't tell me you were gonna try and attack m-"

Instantly, Yamada throws himself at the floor in a dogeza posistion. "I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYYYY!" Yamada screeches, tears pouring out.

"I-IT WAS MS. LUDENBERG!" The otaku sobs loudly. "SHE PLANNED THIS! SHE TOLD ME A BUNCH OF STUFF ABOUT YOU AND..." Yamada sniffs before rushing through his words rapdily. "IJUSTGOTANGRYANDAGREEDTOHERPLANIMSORRYITWASASPUROFTHEMOMENTTHINGISWEAR!"

...

"Hey, chill dude." Surprisingly, Mondo didn't seem angry at all. In fact he looked as if he felt sorry for Yamada.

"I know that being angry can get you to do some dumb shit. Let's just forget all of this, huh?" Mondo says quietly, offering his hand to the sobbing Yamada.

"H-Huh?! Y-You... Really forgive me?"

"Well, nothing bad happened right? Just tell us about what Celeste told you to do, alright?"

"To be honest, this is pretty uncharacteristic of you, Mondo." Makoto was flabbergasted. He thought for sure that he would have to restrain Mondo to prevent him from attacking Yamada.

"I-I swear Mondo. I will never forget your one true moment of kindness! I swear on my honor, I shall repay you one day!" Yamada bounces up and looks at Mondo gratefully.

"W-Whatever dude..." Mondo brushes Yamada off, clearly uncomfortable. "Just tell us about what you were trying to do, huh?"

"Yes sir!" Yamada straightens up and salutes.

"Celeste approached me earlier and accused you of doing extremely undecent things to her!"

"U-Undecent?" Mondo's face quickly turns red. "I would never do anything to harm a woman! It's my code of honor!"

"Y-Yeah, I thought about that too, but Celeste said that you did those things. To be honest... I was still angry that you were guarding me from Alter Ego, so I didn't think that much about it."

"Anyway, what happened next?" Makoto already knew most of the details about Celeste's plan, but it wouldn't hurt to see if things had changed, like Ishimaru being the target.

"She told me that I could help her take revenge... In a m-murder scheme... Celeste didn't say much about it, but she told me to give two notes - one to you, and one to Mr. Hagakure."

"Wait a sec, Hagakure got a note to? So where is he?" Mondo looks around, confused.

"Ah, yes... That was also a part of Ms. Ludenbergs plan. His note had him come way before you did... We were going to frame him for the murder."

"Again, so where is he?"

"... We stuffed him into one of the pool lockers and put him inside a robot suit."

"A robot suit, huh?" Makoto asks thoughtfully.

_I guess that part stayed the same..._

"Y-Yeah. Afterwards, I was to fake my own death in order to create an alibi while Ms. Ludenberg murdered someone else. She didn't tell me her target though."

"..." Makoto averts his gaze, uncomfortable. Yamada didn't know that Celeste was going to kill him in cold blood, even after being an accomplice.

"Man, that's fucked up. Me and one other person were supposed to die?" Mondo shakes his head in disbelief.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Alright, that's it!" Mondo shouts, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go find Celeste and make her explain herself!"

"I'll go too." Out of nowhere, Kyoko steps into the room, arms crossed.

"H-Huh? Kyoko? How did you..." Makoto stares at the detective in confusion.

"I leave my door open at night, remember? Yamada's shouting woke me up. I overheard most of his account." Kyoko explains, hardening her gaze. "In any case, I have questions for Celeste too."

"Okay then." Makoto looks at the other three people in the room.

"Let's all go together!"

* * *

Just as Celeste had finished faking her assault, Kyoko, along with Makoto and Mondo comes in. In order to fake the attack, she had torn her uniform in several places and applied makeup in order to form a bruise, along with some scratches on her cheek. Though not that deep in detail, it seemed like a legitmate injury.

_Shit! _Celeste cursed to herself. _How did they find me so quickly? And why isn't Mondo dead yet?!_

_Was I betrayed by Yamada?!_

"O-Oh!" Celeste quickly steps up to face Makoto. "I-I was stupid... I got attacked!"

Makoto raises an eyebrow. "Attacked?"

"Y-Yes. By some sort of strange man."

"You shouldn't lie, Celeste." Kyoko frowns disapprovingly.

"I'm telling the truth!"

Mondo sighs and shakes his head. "We heard everything from Yamada."

"..."

With that, Celeste's fears were finally confirmed. The dumb fat Otaku couldn't keep his mouth shut and now she had nowhere to run.

_No. I must lie._

"Well..."

_I need to lie. I'm the queen of lies I_

"Yamada..."

_must survive I must get out of_

"He was the one who attacked me! I have a"

_here I need to get out I will get out_

"picture of him attacking Hagakure!"

_lielielielielielielielielielielieLIELIELIELIELIELIELIELIELIELIELIELIE_

"Yamada tried to murder both of us!

_I MUST LIE_

"... Would you show us the picture then?" Kyoko asks with a cool demeanor.

"Yes, here it is. It's on the camera I found the other day..."

...

"See for yourself. Yamada was carrying Hagakure on his back after knocking him unconcious. I managed to take a picture on that camera but he noticed me so Yamada decided to attack me as well. He must have decided that I should take the bl-"

"I don't see Hagakure in this picture." Kyoko deadpans, interupting Celeste in the middle of her ramblings.

"W-What?"

"I just see Yamada carrying some sort of robot."

Celeste gasps as she realizes her mistake. How would she explain her knowledge of who was in the robot suit?

_KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING_

"Oh, Did I forget to mention? I witnessed him stuffing Hagakure into that suit. That should explain it, no?"

Makoto suddenly places a hand on her arm. "Celeste. You don't need to keep this up. We know what you two planned."

_KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING KEEP LYING_

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Celeste's mask suddenly breaks as he flies into a fit of rage. "That DAMNED tub of lard tried to kill Hagakure and I! Why don't you see that?! HE'S THE ONE TO BLAME!"

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto shouts, pointing a finger at Celeste.

"?!"

"Celeste... if Yamada attacked you after catching you taking a picture, why didn't he break the camera that you had? A picture would certaintly be crucial evidence."

_KEEP. LYING._

"... Yamada noticed ME, not the camera. I hid it from him."

"But Yamada told us that you had a picture before we even came here."

_keep..._

"I..."

_lying..._

"That is..."

Suddenly, Mondo speaks up. "Look chick, I know you wanna get out of here. Hell, we all do. But we need to team up on that fucking bear to do it. We shouldn't be killing each other here."

...

"That's right! We can do this together. Mark my words, we will take down the mastermind together!" Makoto states confidently, a smile plsstered on his face."

...

"Killing each other is just what Monokuma wants. Don't play into his hands." Kyoko hands Celeste's camera back to her.

...

"Fine... I admit defeat."


	12. Act 1, Chapter 10

"Hello, Yamada..."

"Oh... Celeste..."

The otaku and the gambler awkwardly stare at each other. At Makoto's insistence, the two had met up in order to make amends. It would be bad to harbor grudges, especially in a situation like this.

_If I loose my temper again, that would just make my life at this damned school even harder..._

Swallowing her pride, Celeste makes the first move -

"I... would like to formally apologize." She says quietly.

"Ah, yes indeed I- WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Yamada quickly looks around.

_No way this is the real Celeste!_

"Oh, put a sock in it. I'm capable of empathy you know. I lied to you and dragged you into a murder scheme. For that, I aplogize." Celeste smiles sweetly at an astonished Yamada.

"I-I see now! Y-You... You really are a tsundere!"

"Don't push your luck..." Celeste kept smiling but the atmosphere got considerably more dense.

"Eeep! Erm, I accept your apology! Water under the bridge!" Yamada quickly waves his hands in surrender.

Celeste let's out a small sigh of relief. "Good."

But apologizing to Yamada was actually the easiest part. He was always one of the gullible ones.

But when Makoto and the others return to the group, they will tell everyone about what I planned.

_I don't look forward to explaining myself to Byakuya or Toko..._

* * *

"Hey Celeste! You were kinda late today. We were getting worried." Leon waves his hand lazily as he eats his lunch.

It was around 1 PM - nearly the middle of the day.

"I thought that perhaps Monokuma's game had finally begun..." Byakuya says with a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Hm?" Celeste looks at the two with confusion.

"Monokuma's game really did begin, I'm telling you!" Hagakure shakes his finger in front of Byakuya's face. "He himself had kidnapped me today!"

This only sought to bring Celeste more confusion. Why did Hagakure think it was Monokuma who kidnapped him?

"Kidnapped?" Celeste questions with a tilt of her head.

"Exactly! He sent me a taunting note and then drugged me! When I woke back up, I was laying near the pool with some seriously stiff joints!"

"Don't listen to this moron. He's likely just fishing for attention."

"Well the pool part I can confirm." Asahina suddenly announces. "When Sakura and I looked for everyone this morning, we found him passed out near the pool lockers."

"About that..." Sakura says with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "What were you all doing? You, along with Byakuya, Toko, and as mentioned before, Hagakure, were absent from the morning and Kyoko were also significantly late and didn't offer any explanation. Byakuya and Toko, I can understand. But what about the others?"

Suddenly, comprehension dawns in Celeste's mind. For some reason, the others didn't tell anyone about her scheme. But why?

Celeste makes a mental note to interrogate Makoto later. He would probably be the most willing to divulge information. For now though, she needed to come up with some sort of explanation.

"I had dedicated this morning to do some... self-maintenance."

"Self-maintenance?" Sayaka echoes.

"Yes. Cleaning my room, organizing my belongings, cleaning myself... I aplogize if my absence worried the rest of you."

"..." Sakura stares at her for a moment before sighing. "That's fine, just tell us in advance in the future. Missing over a third of our group was worrying."

Celeste offers a small smile and nods.

"I won't make the same mistake twice."

* * *

Makoto Naegi is facing a dillema.

_Was this the right thing to do...?_

The reason why he had told everyone not to tell them was because this might be the last straw.

First, Toko was named as Genocider Jill. Then, Mukuro was revealed to be working with the mastermind. Sakura was also revealed to be working for the mastermind. On top of that, Sayaka as well as Mondo were shown to have caused the deaths of two other people, though indirectly.

Distrust was already relatively high in the group - knowing that Celeste was planning a murder, AND that Yamada went along with it would be too much.

He had a good reason, but was it good enough?

All of this actually made Makoto feel bad. It was almost like he was admitting that his friends couldn't be trusted.

_But that's not true... I do trust them! That's why I'm trying to save them... That's why I was given a second cha-_

"Makoto?"

Someone's voice abruptly breaks Makoto's line of thought.

"Ah!" Makoto immediately jumps up in a knee-jerk reaction and finds himself facing...

Celeste.

"Oh, Celeste. Jeez, you really scared me there!"

Celeste frowns with disapproval. "You shouldn't keep your room unlocked,"

"Oh, I left it unlocked?" Makoto laughs sheepishly. "I keep forgetting to lock it... Anyway, what are you doing here Celeste?"

The gambler sharpens her gaze. "I want you to explain."

"Explain?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone about my murder attempt?"

"Oh..." Makoto scratches his chin. "I was actually just thinking about it. It's just that... Well, I don't want to create more tension, ya know? We are already under high pressure from Monokuma and all of his motives..."

"..." Celeste could do nothing but stare at Makoto in shock.

"Besides, nothing really happened right? I don't want you to be isolated because of this. I think that everyone deserves... a second chance."

"A second chance..." Celeste muses to herself. Then, she takes a deep breath, and...

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Makoto's face quickly turns pale. "Eh?"

"I tried to kill TWO people. TWO! You shouldn't be so damn forgiving, Makoto! You're just going to get exploited someday!" Celeste snarls, pointing her metal finger.

"..."

"If anything, I DESERVE to be isolated! What I did was attempted murder, Makoto! Get that through your thick skull, why don't you!"

"No that's wrong!"

Celeste gasps as Makoto suddenly counters her finger point with one of his own.

"You don't deserve isolation! No one deserves something like that! If you deserve isolation, then wouldn't Yamada, and Toko deserve isolation as well?"

"Huh?!"

"Yamada attempted murder as well. And Toko herself is Genocider Jill! Despite this, you haven't made any arguement to punish either of them yet."

"Th-That's different!" Celeste struggles to make an arguement. "Yamada only tried to kill because of me! And Genocider Jill might as well be an entirely seperate person!"

"But did Yamada not decide to go along with your plan of his own free will?"

"..."

"And can't Genocider Jill appear at practically any time?"

"..."

"It's okay, Celeste." Makoto says, beaming at her. "You don't need to punish yourself for this."

"Makoto... You are too kind for your own good." Celeste shakes her head in amazement. "Not to mention annoyingly optimistic."

Makoto chuckles slightly. "I've heard that one before."

"Very well then... I suppose I shall take my leave. Farewell." Celeste slowly walks out, seemingly dazed.

"See you, Celeste!"

As soon as Celeste closes the door behind him, Makoto collapses onto his bed in relief.

"Phew... Celeste can be really scary when she snaps like that..."

Despite feeling mentally exhausted, Makoto still felt good.

He was making progress.

He would do this.

He would save his friends.

All of them.

* * *

_..._

* * *

_*knock knock*_

Not more then 30 seconds after Celeste leaves, someone else knocks on Makoto's door.

"Huh? Now who is it...?"

Opening the door, he finds himself in front of Sayaka.

"Oh! Sayaka, what's up?" Makoto quickly grins. "Do you need something?"

"..." Sayaka doesn't say anything at first, rather opting to look around in his room.

Then, after a minute, she clears her throat and says "So you two were alone in your room together?"

"... Huh?"

"Wouldn't you say that Celeste has a great poker face? I mean, she would have to, being the Ultimate Gambler and all..."

Baffled, Makoto slowly nods his head. "I guess so?" Why is Sayaka asking about this all of the sudden?

"I noticed that Celeste had just walked out of your room. She was acting rather flustered, you know." Sayaka's gaze slowly turns into a glare.

"..."

"Now, what could you and Celeste possibly have done together that was embarassing enough to make a girl like her get flustered?"

"No, no! Sayaka, she just wanted to talk to me about something, I swear!" Makoto laughs nervously and takes a step back.

Sayaka studies Makoto's face for a moment before exhaling. "You're telling the truth... But what were you two talking about?"

"Eh? Oh... It's a secret, sorry."

"... She told you a secret..."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Sayaka slams her palm into the door with an enraged look on her face.

"That damn BITCH beat me to the punch!"

"Ah! Sayaka, are you okay?!"

"How could I be?! Celeste just confessed her feelings to you and I-"

"What?!" Makoto's face suddenly erupts into a blush.

"Wait don't get the wrong idea, Sayaka! It wasn't about that at all!"

"... It wasn't?"

"N-No..." Makoto mutters tentatively.

Sayaka's face flushes as she realizes her mistake.

"...Oh, ok. If it wasn't anything like that then I'll just make my way out then..." The pop idol mutters to herself as she quickly leaves.

...

"Jeez... Why was she so worried about that? Where did she even get the idea that Celeste would... confess her feelings to me?"

...

...

...

_*knock knock*_

...

Makoto opens the door.

...

Mukuro is standing there, crossing her arms.

...

"So, I noticed that you and Sayaka were in your room together... Alone."

* * *

***A/N* Will start adding more bonus scenes to chapters that I feel are too short. Hope you like em :)**


	13. Author's Note

***A/N***

**So, I had went ahead and fixed a bunch of plot holes and some grammar issues in the previous chapters. On top of that, I added 2 bonus scenes to make up for the smaller chapters. **

**If you're the type to be bothered by story inconsistency, (Like how the floors have been opening up despite no murders happening) then it might be a good idea to reread some of the story.**

**Ofc, you don't need to reread. I know that doing that can be boring.**

**Either way, have fun with the rest of my fic.**


	14. Act 1, Chapter 11

Since Monokuma's money motive had been introduced, no murders had happened.

For every day a murder didn't happen, Monokuma decided to add an extra 100 million yen. "Sweetening the pot" was what he called it.

2 weeks pass and no one made a move.

Not even Celeste, who desperately wanted the money to build the castle of her dreams, tried anything.

Once again, Monokuma's motive fails.

* * *

"Oh, woe is me! Woe is woe! How could this happen to one as fair as I? For if no deaths occur, what does the Despair's covenant mean to the world?"

The students of Hope's Peak Academy could only stare as Monokuma moaned dramatically, lazing about on the gigantic pile of yen.

"It's a tragedy! For my beloved yen has no one to be with! Alas, the teenage devils of yonder has forsaken thou..." Monokuma slowly gets up and walks away, sniffling to himself.

...

"Oh well. Guess I don't need the money anymore then."

_*FWOOSH*_

In the blink of an eye, all of the money goes up in flames.

"Nooooooo! Dude, what the hell?!" Hagakure scrambles up to the bonfire and hastily searches for any bills that may have been spared from thr fire.

"Huh? No one murdered for it, so what's the point in keeping it around?" Monokuma stares quizzically at the panic striken Hagakure.

"Couldn't you have left around 8 million yen untouched?" The clairvoyant sits down on the floor, groaning to himself.

"I would happily give you 8 million if you murder someone..."

"Heck no!"

"Grahhhh! You damned kids!" Monokuma snarls, red eye glowing. "Fine fine, get out of here before I murder all of you myself! The next floor is unlocked so go explore or jack off or something!"

"What a waste of money..." Celeste sighs sadly.

"I know, right!" Hagakure bobs his head up and down in agreement.

"How vulgar..." Byakuya sneers and leaves the gymnasium, unaffected by seeing the billions of yen go up in flames.

Ishimaru sharply claps, gaining the attention of all of the students, sans Byakuya.

"Alright! Let's do our best to explore the new floor! Ready, team?"

"..."

"Okay! Let's go then!"

* * *

"The music room, huh?"

Makoto looks around. This room didn't seem very relevant during the 1st killing game Makoto when through. The giant music room resembled more of a concert hall.

Kyoko, who was also in the room, walks up to Makoto.

"You know, you haven't told me what you think yet." Kyoko looks at Makoto expectantly.

_Right. This had also happened last time. Kyoko asks me about it and I tell her that I was attacked. Then she asks what I was hiding and gets mad when I don't tell her... But Sakura is already revealed to be a mole, so I don't think she will get angry again._

"About the secret room in the boys bathroom?"

Before the investigation, Kyoko had asked Makoto to investigate it for her - apparently as a sign of trust. He was attacked last time, but now, by the time he got there, the files were already stolen.

"Right... I did find the secret room, but there wasn't really anything in there. It was empty..."

"Empty?" Kyoko's eyes widen slightly. "I see... I suppose the mastermind must have stolen them. That means that there must be some sort of u known clue there related to the mastermind's identity..."

Makoto nods in agreement. "I guess so. He must have seen you go in the boys bathroom through the cameras, right?"

"Right... I wanted to see how the mastermind would react to you going in... But apparently it was to late. He beat us to the documents. I had already read what I needed to though, so it wasn't a total loss."

At this, Kyoko's eyes unfocus and she starts muttering to herself, deep in thought.

...

"Kyoko?" Makoto asks, uncertainty.

The sound of her name was enough to snap Kyoko out of her daze. "Ah, right. I'll be sure to let you know if I find anything... Anyway, now it's your turn. Let's hear your secret."

"Huh?" Makoto gapes at Kyoko in shock.

_Secret?! But she already knows about Sakura!_

"You think I wouldn't notice?" Kyoko gives a small smirk. "I've been studying you since the beginning of the game. No matter what Monokuma throws at us, and no matter what clues we find, you never seem surprised. It's like you knew everything that was going to happen."

Makoto blinks in amazement. She was this perceptive?!

"So tell me. What are you hiding? At first, I thought that since you seemed to know about everything, you might be an accomplice to the mastermind. But the circumstances have lead me to believe that is not the case... Well?" Kyoko looks into Makoto's eyes expectantly.

_Should I tell her...? Well, she did save me in the other time line... And I have already told Mukuro anyway... I suppose I can trust her._

Slowly, Makoto nods. "Do you have a paper and pen?"

"Worried about the cameras? That's good." Kyoko smiles approvingly before handing him a pen and a napkin.

...

**"Go 2 changing room tonight. Complicated situation. Too much to explain through writing down."**

...

As Kyoko reads his message, he sees her mouth curl in disappointment.

"Very well." Kyoko nods and doesn't say anything more.

* * *

_*bing bong ding dong*_

"Emergency, emergency! Come to the gym at once! I have something VERY important to tell all of you!" Monokuma's blaring voice echoes throughout the school.

"Ugh, already?" Mondo scowls at the one of the school speakers.

"I-I guess we would have to discuss our findings later..." Chihiro comments, disappointed.

Chihiro had been waiting practically all day for the perfect time to tell everyone that Alter Ego had finished analyzing all of the files! She found a bunch of useful stuff... If she kept bottling up this info, she might just explode!

They had just finished exploring the 4th floor. Investigation had revealed that this floor contains the Music Room, the Staff Room, the Headmaster's Office, the Chemistry Lab, and Classrooms 4-A and 4-B. The Data Processing Room is also on this floor but it was kept locked.

_"Hey, why is this door locked?" Leon starts banging on the door. "Let us in!"_

_"Stop that! No touchy no touchy!" Out of nowhere, Monokuma springs up and pushes Leon back._

_"Huh?!"_

_"Didn't you see the new rule? God, youth these days!"_

_"There's a new rule...?" Leon checks his student E-Book and sure enough..._

**Breaking down a locked door is now prohibited!**

_"Jeez... what's even in there?"_

Along with the data processing room, the Headmaster's office was also under lock and key. The door breaking regulation had to be added when Mondo started slamming the door.

These 2 locked rooms contained vital clues - Makoto knew this. But it wasn't like he could just tell everyone about them.

_I guess I will just have to tell everything to Kyoko..._

* * *

"Alright you kids, I have decided to throw a lifeline out! This next motive is a real plot twist for sure! Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma guffaws sadistically.

"When will you learn, Monokuma? Your silly motives won't break us!" Ishimaru yells fiercely.

"Yeah, bro is right!" Mondo slings an arm around his soldier. "Our bonds are unbreakable!"

"Puhuhuhuhu! Just shut up and listen, why don't ya? There's yet another traitor in your midst!"

"Another...?" Sakura glares at the bear with malice. "Have you forced yet another student to take part in your schemes?"

"Oh please... I would NEVER force any student to do something unwillingly! That would be unbecoming of a headmaster!"

"Quit lying, you demon!" Yamada yells, pointing at Monokuma. "You have forced us to live here forever!"

"Are you surrrrrrreeeeee?"

"Of course! I'm not here of my own free will!"

"Back on topic..." Byakuya interrupts with a sharp tone. "Is this your motive? Saying that we have another spy?"

"Oh no no no! This is a package deal! I'm going to TELL you who the traitor is!"

Makoto looks around cautiously. This was a completely different scenario from the other time line. He was going to experience this for the first time, like everybody else.

Who could the new spy be...?

"This DASTARDLY traitor is..."

Monokuma grabs a wooden stick out of thin air and points it to the middle of the group.

"Makoto Naegi!"


	15. Act 1, Chapter 12

"M-Me?!" Makoto steps back in shock, mouth opening and closing.

"Puhuhuhuhu! That's right! In fact, from the very start of this whole game, Makoto had been working for me! Isn't that sweet?" Monokuma twirls the wooden stick in his paws, giggling to himself.

"What the hell?! Makoto's a spy?" Mondo's head snaps to Makoto as he stares at him in shock.

"No way!" Asahina stares desperately at Makoto. "That has to be a lie!"

"In defense of Makoto, I had never seen or heard of him when I was still working with Monokuma..."

"... I can't say that I'm surprised that Monokuma would make this move." Byakuya rolls his eyes in contempt. "Makoto obviously knew more then any of us. That was proven when he pushed Mukuro out of the way."

"KILL THE TRAITOR!" Toko hisses while backing up from Makoto.

Mukuro, glaring at Monokuma, speaks up. "Makoto-"

"HEY HEY HEY!" The monochrome bear interrupts Mukuro before she could get past her first word. "Remember the new rule! Or do you feel like going through another execution?"

"..." Mukuro closes her mouth, but kept her murderous glare trained on Monokuma.

"Oh boy! If looks could kill, I would be bear steak by now! Anyway, I would like to present a freebie perk as well!"

"F-Freebie?" Hagakure's head perk up.

"Don't look so interested man!" Leon smacks Hagakure on the shoulder roughly.

"Puhuhuhuhu! Anyone who kills Makoto Naegi graduates right away! No trial, no investigation, you get to get out of here completely free! No strings attached!"

Each word was like a cold knife, stabbing itself into Makoto's heart. "W-What...?"

"Do what you will with this information! Puhuhuhuhu!"

...

"G-Guys, I-" Makoto pipes up feebly.

"Mr. Naegi. You don't need to explain. I trust you way more then that dumb bear!" Yamada grins confidently.

"Huh?" Makoto turns around to stare at the otaku.

"No way someone like you could be working for Monokuma! He just wants to get rid of you."

"That's right!" Sayaka moves to Makoto's right. "I believe in Makoto! He's definitely not a traitor."

Mukuro keeps silent, but nods and steps up taking a place to his left.

"I admit, the chances of Makoto working for Monokuma is unbelievably low... I wouldn't bet a single chip on him being a traitor."

"The day Makoto is a traitor is the day I give up donuts!"

"..." The cold knife that stabbed into his heart is replaced with a deep warmth as his friends step up for him.

"Hey, what the hell are you kids talking about? He's a traitor!" Monokuma raises his claws angrily.

"I will side with Hina. I must say that Makoto has been acting the least suspicious out of anyone."

"Yeah dude! Naegs is a nice guy, you know?"

"I-I believe in Makoto... He is our friend!"

"Makoto's a cool dude. I don't think someone like him would backstab us!"

"To suggest that a model student such as Makoto is working for Monokuma... It is impossible!"

"Well if my bros believe in him, then I will too! Because Makoto's my bro too!

"... I believe him."

In a fit of rage, Monokuma snaps his wooden stick in half and begins chewing on it.

"Graaagh! Why is Byakuya the only one here to see any sense?!"

"Hmph. While I believe that Makoto is hiding something, I think it is rather preposterous to suggest that he's working with you at this moment. Why would you want him dead so badly if he was?" Byakuya smirks and faces away from Monokuma. "This attempt at causing distortion and confusion within our group... is completely pathetic."

"Oh, Master Byakuya!" Toko swoons, drooling all over herself. "So upstanding... I love you so much!"

"Stay the hell away from me."

"... Puhuhuhu!" Unexpectedly, Monokuma starts cackling. "As it stands, the free kill perk is still up for grabs! You say that you guys are friends, but I wonder how long Makoto will last? Puhuhuhuhuhu!"

With that last laugh Monokuma vanishes once again.

"Listen up all of you!" Mondo shouts, smashing his fists together. "If you wanna kill Makoto, you gotta get through me first!"

"Yes. I will make efforts to defend Makoto as well." Sakura says in a low tone.

"G-Guys... Thank you!" Seeing all of his friends, even Byakuya stand up for him, moved him greatly. It made it feel like saving all of them was truly worth it.

"Thank you all for believing in me... Honestly, I appreciate it."

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"_

"I suppose we will have to discuss our findings tomorrow." Kyoko states simply.

"Ah... Yeah. Good night everyone..." Chihiro looks down sadly, biting his lip.

Mondo notices this however. "Chihiro? Something wrong?" He looks down at the petite programmer, who seemed a bit downcast.

"Oh, no. Everything's fine." Chirho smiles as he nods reassuringly.

And everything was fine. Mukuro said that Monokuma might know about the laptop, but so far, nothing happened.

Everything was fine.

_And everything WILL be fine._

* * *

As soon as everyone leaves, Makoto makes a direct bee line to the changing rooms. He had promised to tell Kyoko everything after all. Since it was past night, no one was in the halls.

As for the most recent motive, despite Makoto being the most likely target for the next murder, he felt ecstatic. He had been slightly more distant this time around, skipping conversations and not spending as much time bonding with other people. He had been too focused on trying to save everyone.

So when Monokuma announced that he was a traitor, and that the killer that kills him gets away scot-free...

Well, he had begun to panic a bit.

But seeing all of his friends stand up for him like that in front of Monokuma... It actually nearly brought tears to his eyes.

This scene only served to encourage Makoto further. He didn't know why he was given a second chance at saving everyone, but hell if he wasn't going to take advantage.

"I've been waiting. For a second, I though that you may have skipped out on me." A familiar cold voice reaches Makoto's ears.

"Oh! Kyoko!" Makoto quicky walks up to greet her with his usual smile.

From the looks of it, Kyoko had been waiting in the changing room for a few minutes.

"Ah... Sorry if I kept you waiting."

Kyoko shakes her head. "I haven't been here for long. I just hope you will deliver on your promise this morning."

Makoto nods and begins his explanation in a quiet voice.

He told her everything. He wasn't planning on telling her too much about the first killing game, but with her stream of questions, he ended up spilling everything.

The deaths of his fellow classmates.

How they had escaped.

The outside world.

Junko Enoshima...

How he had somehow time traveled here from the future...

By the time Makoto finishes, he ends up out of breath. "I..." _*huff*_ "think that's about everything..."

Kyoko doesn't respond, instead opting to close her eyes in deep thought.

...

...

...

Several minutes pass, and Kyoko has barely moved an inch

...

...

"Um, Kyoko?"

...

...

"That was the most absurd, most dumb, most foolish story I have ever heard in my life."

"What?!" Whatever response Makoto had been expecting, it certainty wasn't that.

"It's insane." Kyoko looks into his eyes unflinchingly.

"But it's true! I swear it!:

...

"I never said that I didn't believe you."

"Huh?" Makoto blinks in surprise.

"It may be stupidly insane, but nothing you have described was impossible. In fact, I think that most of what you say is so absurd that it's actually believable."

"Kyoko..." Makoto beams at her in gratitude. "Thank you for trusting in me!"

"Just promise me one thing."

"Huh?"

"If the time comes, let me press the button to open the door."

The luckster stares at her in confusion. Why does she want to do that? "Ummm, sure I guess?"

"Don't worry Makoto. It's just a precaution."

"A precaution?"

"Yes." Kyoko stares at him with a blank look.

...

"Um-"

"Have a good night." The detective says briefly before turning around and promptly leaving the changing room.

...

No matter how many times Makoto talks with her, he was probably never going to understand her.


	16. Act 1, Chapter 13

***A/N* EXTREMELY minor V3 spoiler up ahead. It's so small that it might not even be classified as a spoiler, but I'm warning just in case.**

* * *

Junko Enoshima was SURE that Makoto would die eventually. I mean, killing him was literally a free pass to escape from this place! Any sane person would take advantage of this.

"Puhuhuhu!" On the night of the first motive, Junko couldn't help but giggle to herself in excitement. Maybe he wouldn't die tonight, but sooner or later, his death will come! Then, everyone will feel despair. She was in ecstacy just thinking about it.

One day later, Makoto doesn't die.

Two days later, Makoto doesn't die.

Three days later, Makoto doesn't die.

Ten days later, Makoto doesn't die.

Two full weeks, or fourteen days later, Makoto isn't dead. In fact, as far as Junko knows, no one even TRIED to kill him.

_Bored._

_boredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredbored_

"Gah!" Junko yells, smashing her fists into the monitors. "This is so BORING! KILL HIM ALREADY!"

Nothing was happening. This wasn't despairful at all. In fact, it wasn't even hopeful. It was just plain boring. Watching these dumb people have fun, socializing like normal people...

Sickening.

Maybe it was time for some direct interference...

* * *

It was exactly 1 AM, a couple hours past the initial night time announcement. Double, triple, and even quadruple checking the cameras, Junko made sure that everyone, including Makoto, was in their beds and asleep.

Makoto Naegi was an extreme annoyance. Sure, he had a lot of potential for a truck-load of despair, but his hope was just getting ridiculous. How Makoto wasn't instantly torn into shreds the moment she announced the motive, Junko will never know.

Equipping a mask, combat knife, and a long clean lab coat, she exits the data processing room and makes a bee-line for Makoto's room. Tenatively, she tries the door knob.

_*wiggle wiggle*_

Of course it was unlocked.

Makoto, you naive bastard.

Junko happily goes into Makoto's unlocked room and takes a quick look around.

His room was messy - but not too messy. A couple things were strewn on the floor, mostly things that he had gotten from redeeming Monokuma tokens and clothing_ (Why the hell does he have so many different pairs of underwear...? There's even a pair that looks kind of like Mukuro's bulletproof panties...) _On his desk, several library books lay open, as if he were studying for something. Overall, his room was what you would expect from an average high school student. Messy and unkept, but certaintly not an actual mess.

Nodding to herself, she moved in to the target. Peacefully sleeping, blissfully ignorant, Makoto Naegi.

"Makoto Naegi," Junko whispers to herself as she pulls her knife up. "Prepare to die!"

Then, Junko's vision goes black.

* * *

"Makoto... Makoto!"

A high pitched voice kept calling out to Makoto. Frankly, all Makoto wanted to do right now was sleep. Who the hell would be calling his name this early? The morning announcement hasn't even played yet...

"Makoto!"

"Ugh..." Makoto groans, opening his eyes a bit, "Five more m-"

...

"GAH!" Makoto jumps out of his bed and immediately backs to a corner. Whatever drowsiness Makoto had was instantly replaced with fear and panic.

"Oh, Makoto! Finally you woke up."

"M-Monokuma! What in the world are you doing in my room?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm Mukuro, not Junko."

...

"W-What? Mukuro?" Makoto cautiously steps forward. "How are you..."

"Ah, here. This should do it." As soon as she finishes her sentence, strange garbled noises start emanating from the monochrome bear.

"What is that...?"

"Ahem. Testing 123, Makoto can you hear me?" The strange noise abruptly cuts out and is replaced by a familiar cold voice.

"Mukuro! Um, yes I can hear you! In your normal voice too."

"Okay, good. Come to the gymnasium. Everyone else is gathered there. I will explain the situation once you arrive."

And with that, Monokuma vanishes.

"If Mukuro is controlling Monokuma... Then what happened to Junko?" Makoto ponders to himself while walking to the gym.

* * *

As soon as Makoto enters the gym, he instantly notices that his classmates were all crowded around something. They all made a tight circle around something, as if intentionally blocking it from anyone else's view.

"Oh, Makoto. There you are." Byakuya gives his usual glare as Makoto enters the gym. "Once again, you are late."

Mumbling an apology, Makoto made his way to the circle.

And in the middle of it, a certain strawberry-blonde fashionista was tied up and unconscious. She was wearing a lab coat, and next to her was a strange looking mask.

"Wha... Junko?!" Makoto recoils slightly as a reflex even though she was clearly knocked out.

"Indeed. We were discussing theories on what she's doing here,"

"Dude! It's the aliens!" Hagakure waves his hand around in terror. "I've seen this before! First, they abduct you into their UFO, and then they do crazy surgery on your body by sticking up various electric rods up your-"

"Hagakure. Enough." Kyoko's sharp retort quickly cuts Hagakure's story short.

"Sorry..."

"Did I keep you guys waiting? Sorry about that." Mukuro's voice is heard coming from thr gym entrance.

"Oh, hey Mukur... Monokuma?" Asahina stares, bewildered at the bear that just came from the gym entrance.

"Yep. I took over control of Monukuma."

"Woah, really?!" Mondo gives an enthusiastic thumbs up. "That means we can get out of here, right?"

"Not so fast." Byakuya turns to face Monokuma. "I would like an explanation, if you will."

Monokuma waddles over to the group before nodding and taking a deep breath.

"Junko Enoshima was the mastermind of this whole killing game. For some reason, Junko had decided that she REALLY wants Makoto dead. This was pretty obvious by her most recent motive. But when Makoto didn't die, even in two weeks, she got frustrated and decided to take things into her own hands."

"Into her own hands?" Makoto's eyes widen. "Don't tell me she was going too..."

"Yeah. She was going to _kill_ you and frame someone else for it." Mukuro's voice hitches almost imperceptibly on the word kill.

"However, ever since Junko had announced that motive, I have been hiding outside of your room, keeping watch during the nights."

"You were watching me every night for the past 2 weeks...? Didn't you get sleepy or something?" Makoto asks with worry evident on his voice.

"I slept during the days."

"Mukuro..." Makoto shakes his head, amazed. "You saved my life! Thank you!"

"I-It was nothing..." Mukuro's voice stammers as Makoto gives her a shining grin.

"There are cameras in each of our rooms. How didn't Junko take suspicion of that?" Unexpectedly, it was Sayaka who raised this question.

"Huh? Oh, I just made a fake body and tucked it into bed. The cameras aren't super high quality, so it was enough to fool her."

Sayaka nods, but she was still unconvinced. Junko didn't notice for the whole two weeks? It seemed like a pretty glaring oversight from the apparent mastermind.

"Anyway... Before you all can leave, there's actually two major decisions to be made." Mukuro's voice darkens.

"Huh? What now?" Leon rolls his eyes impatiently.

"First, what are you going to do with Junko? Kill her? Imprison her? Take her with you?"

"Obviously kill her. This mastermind can not be allowed to live." Byakuya sneers disdainfully at the knocked out fashionista.

"H-Hey, I don't think we should rush straight to killing her..." Chihiro weakly objects.

"You guys can decide later if you want." Mukuro comments. "The second decision is whether or not you really want to get out of here."

"What? Of course we wanna get out of here!"

"Yeah! That's all we've wanted since this shit had started!"

"Why wouldn't we want to get out of this filthy school?"

"Let me explain." Monokuma claps his paws together, and suddenly several monitors pop up from the floor.

On it, were pictures of the outside world.

"W-What the hell?" Mondo could only gape at the sight.

"What is this?" Yamada gasps and puts his hands on his head,

Monokuma robots attacking everyone...

Chaos and destruction...

Buildings collapsing...

A red sky...

"I know this is a lot to take in, but this is needed for you guys to make your choice." Mukuro explains.

"Ugh, my head hurts... What the hell's happening?"

"My heads hurting too!"

"H-Hey, wait a minute..."

"I have implanted a special light into these monitors. These lights are called flashback lights. They are designed to help you guys recover your memories. Junko had removed the past two years of your memory before throwing you into this game."

"Impossible..." Byakuya winces as a dull pain throbs in his head.

"In about 10 seconds, you should regain all of your memories. I hope you guys can make the right decision."

Like everyone else, Makoto was also feeling sharp head pains. It felt familiar - almost like the pain he had felt after waking up again.

Then, in a single blink, he remembers.

In a single blink, everyone remembers.

They remember the past 2 years.

The promises they made.

The outside world.

Their decision to stay here.

Everything is remembered.

* * *

***A/N* Updates may come slower now. I'm currently working on two fanfics at once, but I will try my best to frequently update both.**


	17. Act 1, Chapter 14

"We... We were the one's who locked ourselves in here..." Makoto mumbles.

"Yeah, we even talked to the principal about it! Where is he? He was in here with us!" Leon frantically looked around, as if the principal might be hiding in the gym.

"My father... Mukuro, where is he?" Kyoko, who seemed unfazed by everything, glanced over to Monokuma.

"Dead. He was executed by Junko before the killing game had even started."

"... I see." Kyoko glances at the floor, lost in thought.

Makoto had hesitantly told her about her father's fate back at the changing room. Back then, it seemed surreal. Makoto, a time traveler sent back from the future with tales of her dead father and an apocalypse?

But now, all of this confirms his story. The outside world is deep in a pit of chaos, and most of her family was likely dead.

In fact, if they hadn't trapped themselves in here, some of them would probably be dead too.

"Junko had synced the air purifiers in this building with her own life. If she dies, so does the air purifiers." Mukuro informs them.

"So if we kill Junko, we are forced to go back to the outside world. If we let her live, we can still make a choice on whether or not to stay here." Byakuya surmises.

"I for one, vote to have her live." Makoto comments. "She should be forced to atone for her acts. We should bring her back from the clutches of despair."

"Um, Mr. Naegi?" Yamada raises tentatively raises a finger. "Are you sure that's the right choice? I mean, what if Junko tries to set us up in another killing game? She can tamper with our memories, after all..."

"Oh man oh man... What are we supposed to do?" Hagakure grasps his head in his arms in a panic.

"Puhuhuhu..." An abrupt giggle interjects itself into their conversation.

"Isn't it obvious?" Junko whispers weakly, still laying on the floor. "Kill me. I tried to force all of you to kill your own friends. Isn't that the right thing to do?"

"No, that's wrong!" The luckster shouts, pointing a finger at her. "Everyone deserves a second chance - even you!"

"No! You can't take me away from despair!" Junko shrieks, eyes bloodshot. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE AWAY MY DESPAIR!"

Struggling through her binds, Junko manages to get into a standing position. "Kill me. Face the despair! The entire world out there is completely filled with despair... Let the despair of the human race DESTROY you!"

Makoto shakes his head. "What I think is the right thing to do, is to keep Junko alive. Then, we bring her out from despair. Together, we will rebuild the world. We will water the seeds of hope planted within the world of despair!"

"Oh, come ON!" Junko glares at the students surrounding her. "Will you let this dumb ahoge kid boss you around?! I KILLED YOUR FAMILIES! I KILLED YOUR FRIENDS!"

"..."

"You! Byakuya! You know your precious butler that was in the motive video? I personally tortured him. I saw his life leave his eyes. Don't you want to take revenge?" Junko sneers evilly at the affluent prodigy.

"..."

"Sayaka! I killed off your entire pop group!"

"..."

Spinning 180 degrees, Junko turns to look at Celeste. "I strangled the FUCK out of your dumb cat!"

"..."

"Dude, this chick is seriously fucked up." Mondo glares at Junko, clenching his fists.

"But we can't kill her! Through the whole game, not a single one of us let her win. No murders happened. What would be the point if we killed her? That would just mean that the Killing Game really worked."

"Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Junko lunges at Makoto, screeching.

"Not so fast." Sakura grabs her out of the air and tosses her back onto the ground.

"Ugh..."

"Let's put it to a vote, then." Mukuro, who had been staying silent ever since Junko woke up, suddenly speaks up.

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and STAY inside of this building?"

"..."

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and go back into the outside world?"

11 hands shoot up right away - Makoto, Kyoko, Chihiro, Mondo, Ishimaru, Yamada, Sakura, Asahina, Sayaka, Leon, and Hagakure.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDD-"

"Is there anyone here who would like to kill Junko and then go back to the outside world?

After a small delay, 3 hands go up - Byakuya, Celeste, and Toko.

"... Fine. I would like to see nothing more then for Junko to pay for her crimes. I suppose it doesn't matter if she lives or dies." Byakuya recluclantly concedes.

"How nice. I share the same exact sentiment." Celeste giggles softly.

"I-I'm just voting for whatever Master Byakuya votes for..."

"You guys made your choice, huh? I have to admit, I'm happy that my sister won't be a casualty... Even if she betrayed me, I still love her. I'll make my way down there." With that, Monokuma shuts down, falling limply onto the floor."

"Oh yeah!" Chihiro suddenly gasps. "I forgot to mention that Alter Ego finished with the files... But I guess that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"We should analyze them later anyway." Mondo responds.

Kyoko gives a small smile. "Then it's time. Let's face the outside world once again."

"NO NO NO!" Junko thrashes around, biting at her binds. "My beautiful despair! I won't even taste the despair of death?!"

Sakura sighs, picking up Junko in one arm. "You will atone for your sins, Junko Enoshima."

* * *

Once again, Makoto stands in front of the giant locked door. Just like last time, he is surrounded by his dear friends.

The only difference now is that more of his friends are here.

No one died.

He saved everyone, even Junko.

"Here you go, Kyoko." As promised, Makoto hands the switch to the outside world to Kyoko. "I still don't know how this is a precaution, though."

"Hopefully you never will." Kyoko says cryptically.

The group of students hear footsteps echo behind them.

"Oh, Mukuro! You're here!" Makoto smiles brightly as the Ultimate Soldier joins the 78th class.

Blushing slightly, Mukuro nods. "L-Let's go."

"Oh my FUCKING god, sis. Will you just ask him out already? Aren't soldier supposed to be BRAVE?" Junko snickers, still being held by Sakura.

"J-Junko!"

"I noticed that you didn't vote back when we were all deciding what to do... Why is that?" Makoto tilts his head questioningly at Mukuro.

"Oh... I wouldn't be able to decide my sister's fate..."

"Yes, that's fair." Yamada nods understandingly. "Holding the life of a family member in your hands can truly be gut-wrenching!"

"Well... Does anyone have any objections? This is your last chance." Kyoko clears her throat and scans the small crowd.

"I still think that you guys should take revenge on me."

Other then Junko's scalding comment, no one else raises any objections.

"Very well."

Makoto closes his eyes, satisfied.

_I stopped Sayaka from trying to kill Leon..._

_I pushed Mukuro out of the way of the spears..._

_I kept Mondo's temper in check..._

_I managed to put a stop to Celeste's plans..._

_Sakura didn't try to commit suicide..._

It was finally done. No one had died.

Together, they will move forwards to the future. Makoto doesn't know why he was given a second chance, but hell if he was complaining.

"It's time." Kyoko puts her finger over the button.

No one noticed how Junko was grinning sadistically at Makoto.

...

Kyoko presses the button to open the door.


	18. Act 2, Chapter 1

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"It means what it means. Despair is stronger in the end."_

_"Just at the end, hm?"_

_"Yes... Hope shines brightly at the start. Everyone starts with Hope. Even you started with Hope."_

_"But it can turn into stronger Despair?"_

_"Exactly. However, on the flip side, Despair can be turned into Hope. If you bring someone out of despair and give them Hope, they may shine even brighter."_

_"..."_

_"But it's easy to break them. Someone who is brought from Despair is extremely easy to break."  
_

_"..."_

_"And when they break, there will be even more Despair."_

* * *

_Act Two  
_

_Transmutation of Philosophies  
_

_"Back and forth... Wherever there's hope, there's always despair." _

_\- Junko Enoshima_

* * *

**The 3rd Killing School Game.**

Pain.

Once again, this is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

_What...? Again...?_

The last thing he had remembered was standing with all of his friends, in front of the main door. Everyone was alive, including Mukuro and Junko. They were going to move forwards and face the world.

Then, as sudden as it came, the headache stopped. Once again, all that remained was a subtle feeling of drowsiness.

Shaking slightly, Makoto pulls his head up to observe his surroundings.

He was in a familiar room with bolted windows. In the room, there were several desks and a security camera. A small string of drool had been going down the side of his mouth.

It was happening again.

* * *

"What do you want Makoto?" Mukuro, still disguised as Junko, rolls her eyes. Makoto had pulled her aside so that they could talk alone.

Since Mukuro was close to Junko, telling her about his situation early could serve to be advantageous. He needed to find out what was going on. In his head, he had some semblance of a plan.

First, talk to Mukuro and Kyoko. They were the people he told about his time traveling stunt. From what Makoto could tell, he could trust them. He need someone - anyone really, who could help him out here. Makoto needed to know how he could stop this apparent time loop.

"Look, Mukuro..." Mukuro's eyes widen as she hears her name. "Junko is planning to-"

_!_

Suddenly, searing hot pain spreads through Makoto's stomach. It was as if a hot poker was placed onto his bare skin.

It was the worst thing that Makoto has ever felt in his life.

Slowly, Makoto looks down. A serrated combat knife was sticking out of him.

"Ugh!" Makoto collapses on the floor, grasping his wound. Blood spilled everywhere. On his fingers, on the floor, on his clothes, on Mukuro...

_Blood why is there blood what happened_

It was obvious what happened. Mukuro had stabbed her.

_*cough cough*_

"Ah..." A giant stream of blood ejects itself from Makoto's mouth.

Great, now he was vomiting blood. The smell of rust fills Makoto's nose. The pain of it was almost unbearable. Vision darkening, Makoto struggles to look up at Mukuro.

Blank.

Mukuro's eyes were blank.

From what he could tell, there was absolutely no emotion coming from her eyes.

"W-Why... Mukuro?" Makoto weakly spits out this question, writhing in pain on the floor.

"... Mission compromised... How did he evade the memory erasure...?" Mukuro didn't even look down, instead stepping over Makoto's body. "I need to tell Junko right away..."

Makoto was going to die. As this dawned upon him, his eyes widen in terror. Why was this happening to him? He and his friends were going to get out of here... he had been given a second chance to save his friends, and he had capitalized it.

He went through so much, only to die here? Like this? Stabbed by one of his friends?

The hot pain that started in his stomach starts spread through his entire body. Shaking violently, Makoto could only spit out more blood and cry weakly as life drains from his body.

Strength leaves his body. Soon, he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes.

...

Makoto Naegi becomes the first victim of the Killing School Game.

* * *

**The 4th Killing School Game.**

Pain.

Once again, this is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

_I died. I saw my own blood seep away from my body. I felt my life tear itself away from my body._

_I died. I died. I died.  
_

Makoto had died - that much was obvious.

And yet, here he was.

He had woken up on a desk, one that he had woken up on several times before.

He was in a room, one with a security cameras, a shoddy pamphlet, and bolted windows.

_What do I do...?_

* * *

This time, Makoto contacts Kyoko first. She was the smartest person he knew, after all. And unlike Mukuro, Makoto doesn't think that Kyoko will pull a knife out of nowhere and stab him for spilling a bunch of secrets.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Kyoko stares at him curiously.

"Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I'm from the future. I'm a time traveler."

"... Can I leave now?" Kyoko deadpans.

"At least let me try and prove it!"

After some slight hesitation, Kyoko waves her hand in affirmation.

"Your dad is the principal of this academy, you have amnesia, your talent is the Ultimate Detective."

"..."

"Soon, we will be called into the gymnasium. There, a bear called Monokuma will pop up and tell us that we will be forced to kill each other if we want to escape from this place."

"..."

"Mondo will get really angry and pick up Monokuma. From there, Monokuma will start beeping, hinting at a self destruct. When that happened, you told him to throw it away. When he does, it blows up."

"That's enough." Kyoko puts her hand up, signaling for him to stop.

"If those last two events come to pass, perhaps I will be inclined to listen to you some more. For now, give me some space." Not waiting for a response Kyoko swiftly turns around and walks away.

_Well... I guess I should reintroduce myself to everyone. It would be sort of suspicious if I was the only one who doesn't bother with introductions._

Of course, Makoto knows each person here extremely well. They had gone through the killing game together and some of them he had gone through with twice. But it wouldn't hurt to talk to them some more.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!"

Makoto nods in response. "I'm Makoto Naegi. We went to junior high together, didn't we?

Sayaka's expression brightens. "So that's where I recognize you from! I remember you."

"Y-Yeah."

Suddenly, Sayaka's expression turns slightly downcast. "You... You knew that I recognized you, huh?"

"... Huh?"

_It's easy to forget how sharp Sayaka actually is._

"You see, I'm an esper!"

"But it's just intuition, right?"

Sayaka's expression shifts once again as she starts looking at Naegi with suspicion. She generally did that joke to everyone she meets for the first time. Every time, they always react the same way - with surprise. But this kid...

"How did you know that?"

"Well..."

Sayaka gasps suddenly. "Don't tell me... you're an actual esper?!"

"No." Makoto gives Sayaka a cheeky grin. "Just some intuition of my own."

"Hey, you two!"

Jumping at the loud voice, Sayaka and Makoto both turn to Ishimaru.

"Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our valuable time with this ridiculous back-and-forth!? This is the time for introductions, not idle chit-chat!"

"S-Sorry about that... See you later, Makoto." Sayaka gives one more smile before walking off to introduce herself to someone else.

"2 down, 13 to go..." Makoto mumbles to himself.

* * *

"Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata. What's up?" The baseball star poses in an exaggerated manner, holding his fists up.

"Hey. I'm Makoto Naegi. You're the Ultimate Baseball Player, right? I've seen you on magazines before."

Leon's eyebrows scrunch up at the mention of magazines. "Hope you weren't expecting a shaved head or anything! Did you see that picture of me playing baseball? Aw man, I hate that picture."

Makoto nods sympathetically. "It sucks how shaving your head is part of the national championship regulations."

"Yeah, that's right!" Leon looks at Makoto, pleasently surprised. "I'm kinda shocked that a kid like you would know that! You don't really look like the sporty type, ya know?"

Looking around, Leon suddenly drops to a whisper. "Wanna know a secret? I've never been to practice. Ever. Know why? Cuz I freakin hate baseball!"

"Is that so?" Makoto taps his chin. "Maybe you should try to become a different Ultimate then. Like the Ultimate Rock Star."

Leon's eyes bulge out. "Woah kid! You got that right on the money! I've been honing my musical talents recently."

Smiling, Makoto nods, "Well, good luck with that Leon. See you later!"

"Yeah, see you kid. I think I'm gonna like you a lot!"

* * *

"I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!" Ishimaru energeticallly shouts.

"Hey, I'm Makoto Naegi. Nice to meet you." Makoto responds calmly.

"Same here! You can call me Taka if you wish by the way. Makoto Naegi is a great name. You should thank your parents!"

"Right."

"Thank them by devoting your life to working hard every day! Life is worth every ounce of effort put into it!"

Makoto nods in agreement. "Right. People say that you must be a genius to get far in life, but hard work and determination is better. Isn't that right?"

Ishimaru freezes, gaping at the luckster.

Then, Ishimaru quickly rushes forward and grasps Makoto's hands, shaking it enthusiastically. "Right! You are completely right!"

"You are one of the most upstanding students I've seen so far!" Ishimaru laughs, eyes sparkling. "I look forward to being your classmate!"

Makoto just nods softly. "Same here."

* * *

"N-Not that you would remember my name anyway, but... Toko Fukawa." Toko mutters, avoiding eye contact.

"Makoto Naegi. I'm actually a fan of your books, you know."

Gasping, Toko recoils. "W-What?! You're j-just saying that to be polite!"

Makoto shakes his head in disagreement. "So Lingers The Ocean was a great book. You should be proud of it!"

"W-What?! Why are you praising me?! Just be honest, I'm a filthy creature! That's what you're really thinking, aren't you?!" Toko spits, pointing an accusatory finger.

"I'm being honest, Toko! You're a good author, and you aren't filthy!"

Shreiking, Toko pulls at her pigtails. "Y-Your kindness! It's BURNING me!"

"Hm?" Makoto looks at here quizzically.

"AUGH!" Toko quickly runs away from him, screaming about being melted by his words.

"I guess I shoukd have known better..." Makoto says to himself, laughing awkwardly.

* * *

"I am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, "The Alpha and the Omega!" I don't mind." Hifumi says smugly, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm Makoto Naegi. Nice to meet you!"

"By the way... how much do you know about the 2D world?" Yamada stares intensely at Makoto, ready to judge his character by his next response.

"I have enough knowledge to know that you're the Ultimate Fanfic Creator. And that you are known for a legendary event where you sold 10,000 copies of a fan comic."

Puffing his chest out pridefully, Yamada nods. "Ah, so you've heard of my exploits! Very good Mr. Naegi. Very good indeed!"

"I'm sure that in a way, your kind of like Van Gogh, right? Unappreciated for your work."

"My my!" Yamada grins delightfully at Makoto. "You took the words right out of my mouth! If you're willing, Mr. Naegi, I would be willing to give you an apprenticeship! You show definite promise after all."

Makoto grins sheepishly. "Oh really? I'll think about it."

"Yes, that's fine. I hope to work with you in the future, Mr. Naegi!"

* * *

"Name's Mondo Owada. Nice to fuckin meet ya."

"Makoto Naegi. Likewise." Makoto replies nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Mondo grins. "Ah, you look like a weak kid, huh? But you seem to have some spunk in you. Respect."

Makoto returns the grin with one of his own. "I think that I'm stronger then I look. Thanks though."

* * *

"Hey! Name's Junko Enoshima. Charmed, I'm sure." Mukuro shoots a peace sign along with a big toothed grin.

"Junko Enoshima, huh? You seem different in real life... I'm guessing they use photoshop and stuff?" Makoto asks cautiously. One wrong move and he could die again, after all.

"Ohhh! You got that exactly right! It's totally normal these days to photoshop the crap out of cover photos. If people get surprised by that, the they would be totally blown away by a certain dangerous little diva of ours..."

"I figured that they do stuff like make the eyes bigger and tweak the skin to look clearer."

"Yup yup!" Mukuro gives Makoto a proud smile.

"You know, you're smarter then you look! I'm sure that we're gonna get along just fine."

"Same here."

* * *

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki." Chihiro nervously twiddles her finger as she introduces herself.

"I'm Makoto Naegi. What's up dude?"

"D-Dude?" Chihiro's eyes widen marginally.

"Am I wrong?" Makoto asks as innocently as possible.

Chihiro gasps, putting his hands over his mouth. "H-How did you know?! Anyway, p-please don't tell anyone..."

"Oh, I won't. I'm sure that your reason to dress as a girl is good. Don't worry, I won't start bullying you or anything." Makoto gives Chihiro a reassuring smile.

"R-Really?" Chihiro gives a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Makoto! You're really nice."

"Just remember that if you need to talk to anyone about your problem, I'm here."

"Okay... I'll keep that in mind!"

* * *

"Hey! I'm Makoto Naegi."

"Heya! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina. Sup?" Asahina smiles sweetly.

"Ah, Aoi Asahina. Got it." Makoto nods, writing her name into his hand.

Gasping, Asahina stares at his hands. "You do that too?!"

"Huh? Oh, I just write names 5 times into my hand if I want to remember it."

"No way! I do that too!" Asahina giggles energetically as she writes his own name onto her hand.

"It's N-A-E-G-I, by the way."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Asahina bobs her head up and down as she continues scribbling on her hand.

"You think this school has any donuts in the cafeteria? They're like my favorite food." Naegi asks out of nowhere.

Eyes sparkling, Asahina literally jumps in joy. "You like donuts too?! That's it, Makoto. You're gonna be my best friend here, no questions asked! Got it?!"

Makoto smiles, nodding in affirmation. "Alright, I got it."

* * *

"I am Sakura Ogami." Sakura's low voice booms as she introduces herself to Makoto.

"I'm Makoto Naegi! Nice to meet you."

Then, Sakura starts poking and prodding at his body.

"Ah, I'm afraid that my muscular quantity is extremely average. I don't think that I could serve to be your training partner."

"You may not be that strong, but your mind is sharp enough. You are very interesting, Makoto."

Sakura nods before backing up.

"I look forward to getting to know you better!" Makoto says enthusiastically.

"The feeling is mutual."

* * *

"Hey, I'm Makoto Naegi." Makoto states simply before walking away.

"Wha- Where are you going?" Byakuya's sharp voice stops him before he could get to the next person.

Makoto glances back, confused. "Well, everything about you just screams that you were already sick of looking at me. So I decided to just introduce myself and walk away."

"... I suppose that you are right."

Makoto simply nods before turning back around.

Byakuya stares at the luckster with disdain, but also with curiosity.. "Interesting..."

* * *

"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure-Hiro for short! Take it easy, yeah?"

"I'm Makoto Naegi. Nice to meet you."

"... An, alright, I give up. Seriously." Hagakure throws his hands up in the air dramatically.

"Oh?"

"I saw it dude, right through it?"

Makoto tilts his head slightly. "Let me guess: a guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot?"

Bewildered, Hagakure stares at Makoto for a moment.

Then...

"Bwahahahaha!" Hagakure bellows loudly, slapping him on the back. "You're good dude! But it was bigfoot with a skyfish in his mouth! Close but no cigar!"

"Ah, shoot." Makoto smiles tenatively.

"You're a chill dude, Makoto. If you want, we can grab some brewskis and get real deep into the civilization of Lemuria sometime." Hagakure says, nodding appreciatively.

"Ah, I'm a minor so I can't drink."

"Oh, that's too bad." The clairvoyant frowns slightly.

"Well, we can still hang out sometimes. Stay chill, won't ya?" Hagakure says before walking off.

"Yeah..."

* * *

"Hey, I don't think that we've been introduced. I'm Makoto Naegi."

"I am Celestia Ludenberg." The gambler responds in a stoic manner.

"Celestia Ludenberg, huh?" Makoto says, grinning. "That's a pretty name."

"Why, thank you Makoto. I'm glad that someone appreciates it. You can call me Celeste, if you wish."

"Alright Celeste. I look forwards to getting to know you better."

Celestia nods. "As do I."

* * *

As Makoto wraps up his introductions, he and the other students begin talking about their troubling predictament.

Makoto participated of course, but didn't try anything extra. He was already exhausted from remembering all of the details of his classmates as they met again.

Then, as the conversation starts to wane...

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then! To all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...That's all. I'll be waiting!"_

Once again, it was time.

Time to begin a new killing game.


	19. Act 2, Chapter 2

***A/N* Forewarning, this is mainly a filler chapter. Don't worry though - it won't be long before shit hits the fan.**

* * *

Makoto made a mistake.

What the hell was he thinking, introducing himself to everyone like that? He should have just gone through it regularly. But since he _had_ to appease all of his classmates, he was stuck in this dilemma.

It started out pretty innocently though.

"Makoto. I need to talk to you about... your situation." Right after Monokuma makes his announcement commanding the students to go to the gym, Kyoko approaches Makoto. "Let's walk and talk."

"Sure! Let's go."

"Hey, wait a second!" Sayaka hastily walks up to the two. "Can I join you two? I want to talk some more to Makoto as well."

"Well..." As Makoto tries to think of a way to politely decline, Yamada rushes torwards Makoto.

"No! I will not let anyone take my apprentice from me!" Yamada points at Makoto. "Come with me, my student! I shall begin your lessons as we make our way to the gym!"

From there, the situation only got worse.

Makoto laughs nervously, backing up a bit. "Hey, wait a s-"

"Not so fast." Leon joins the rapdily growing group of students. "Let me walk with him!"

"I-I will not let any of you take away my white knight!" Out of nowhere, Toko runs into Makoto, grabbing onto his hoodie.

"W-White knight?!" Makoto stammers. Wasn't Byakuya supposed to be her white knight?!

"Sorry folks, I got dibs!" Asahina chimed in. "I already have him as my best friend so back off!"

"No, I believe that I have priority on Makoto!" Ishimaru shouts. "Him and I are tutor and student!"

"I'm your student...?"

"Obviously!"

Hagakure breaks through the crowd and grabs Makoto's arm. "Sorry dudes."

Before anyone could react, Hagakure pulls Makoto _hard_, shoving everyone else out of the way.

"Hey! What gives?"

"No fair..."

_*ding dong bing bong*_

"HEY! I'm waiting here! Get to the dang gym already! Or else I'll start assigning penalties!"

Hagakure nods at Makoto. "Hear that buddy? Let's split!"

"Wha-"

Once again, Hagakure runs off, dragging Makoto behind him.

_What have I done..._

* * *

Other then that small blip, everything went along as expected.

Monokuma appears out of nowhere.

Most of the students call him a teddy bear.

He denies it and then tells the students to kill each other.

Mondo gets pissed and picks up the bear.

Kyoko tells him to throw it - he complies.

It was all happening exactly as Makoto expected it to.

...

"So? What are we going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?"

Her pointed comment was directed at everyone in the room. It helped pull them back to reality. Out of everyone there, Makoto and Kyoko were probably the only ones there who didn't seem surprised at all.

"R-Right. She's right! Times like these are when you are supposed to step forward!" Ishimaru cries. "To have forgotten such a simple fact... I'm so ashamed! Someone, please hit me!"

Mondo scoffs, glaring at Ishimaru. "If you have time to yell about it, then do something about it."

"Perhaps..." Yamada says nervously. "But what exactly would be the mission?"

"Duh! Look for a way outta here!" Leon yells out.

_It's happening again... _Makoto thinks to himself. _I already feel exhausted..._

Kyoko walks up to Makoto with a cold glare. "So, care to explain what happened on the way to the gym?"

"Erm... I don't know? That didn't happen last time."

The detective sighs, brushing away some of her hair. "Whatever. As it stands, I'm convinced that you're either working for the person behind Monokuma, or you're telling the truth about time travelling."

Makoto nods in agreement. "That's what you said when I told you about this for the first time."

"Well if you are working for Monokuma, that doesn't explain how you knew Mondo would grab the bear. Of course, it could have simply been a prediction, but it throws some credibility torwards your time travel explanation."

From here, Kyoko's gaze hardens considerably. "You say that I'm the Ultimate Detective, and that my father is the principal of this school?"

Makoto nods confidently. "It's true."

"What happened to my father? Is he in the school?"

"..." Makoto looks away, unable to meet her eyes.

...

"I see. Then instead of telling me about my father, tell me another event that will come to pass."

What would be a good prediction to tell Kyoko? He couldn't tell her about Sayaka's murder... It won't happen anyway, not with Makoto around. But there was one other event that happened early on.

"Chihiro Fujisaki takes a broken laptop from the library and repairs it. He uses it to create an AI known as Alter Ego."

Kyoko raises a brow. "He?"

"Oh... Yeah. Chihiro's a guy."

"... Alright. I will stake out the library myself. If he takes the laptop as you predicted, then I suppose I'd have no choice but to believe you."

Makoto's shoulders sag as he sighs in relief. "Thank you, Kyoko. I just want to stop myself from being stuck in this... this time loop. I'll save everyone from being murdered again, obviously. But this time, I hope it doesn't all restart..."

"I'm sure that I can think of some sort of solution." Kyoko says simply. "See you later."

"Yeah..."

* * *

From there, Makoto relives the events of the Killing School Life yet again.

Though most of it remained the same, there were a couple of differences here and there. Most of it stemmed from Makoto's beginning introduction. Everyone acted friendlier to Makoto - especially Toko and Asahina. Mondo didn't even try to punch him when he stepped in between his fight with Byakuya!

"Fucking hell... can't you just let me punch that asshole once?" Mondo sends a deathly glare at the affluent prodigy.

"We can't be fighting each other. Let's just calm down, alright?" Makoto puts his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Hmph. Whatever..." Mondo says, backing up.

_Huh. He didn't punch me this time around? Not that I'm complaining_ though...

Though instances like these happened every now and again, most of Makoto's actions stayed the same - and so did the actions of his classmates.

* * *

"I'm really sorry to come by so late..."

Makoto stares at Sayaka who was standing in front of his room. Her body was trembling and her face was deathly pale.

_Now, I just need to do it all over again._

"Sorry to bother you but... something weird just happened."

"Please be honest with me, Sayaka." Makoto interrupts her and stares into Sayaka's eyes.

"H-Huh?" Sayaka's eyes fill with panic. "Makoto I-"

Makoto grasps both of her hands, causing Sayaka to gasp.

"Sayaka, there's no need to be so desperate. So please... don't do this."

"My pop idol group was on the motive video... I... I need to check up on them. I have to get out of here!"

Makoto pulls Sayaka into a tight embrace.

"...!"

"We will get out of here. I promised you before."

_Why? Makoto knew that I was going to kill someone... But he still trusts me? I don't deserve this!_

"I... I was going to kill someone and frame you for it."

"I know."

"If you know why are you still so trusting towards me?!" Sayaka angrily pushes Makoto away.

"If you knew I was going to kill someone then... then you shouldn't be so trusting! In fact, you should hate me!"

"No, that's wrong." Makoto points to Sayaka.

"I shouldn't hate you, you're my friend! I want to help you, Sayaka. I don't care if you were going to frame me or not. I know that you don't want to kill anyone Sayaka. Killing someone would just be what Monokuma wants!"

After this, Sayaka started feeling the full weight of her guilt. Had she really been planning to kill someone and then frame this innocent boy?

_I'm disgusting._

"I used you... I didn't even hesitate to put your life in danger..."

Makoto shakes his head.

"If you were truly using me, then you would've aimed to kill me instead of Leon. I would have been a much easier target."

Sayaka gasps.

"Sayaka, you are my friend. I only wish the best for you. That's why I promise... I promise that we will get out of this mess together.

...

"How did you know?" Sayaka quietly asks, avoiding eye contact.

Makoto smiles gently. "I'm an esper.

"But it's just intuition. Isn' that right?" Sayaka's gaze suddenly snaps back to Makoto.

"Yup. Have a good night, Sayaka.

"... Good night."

* * *

The next morning, Kyoko grabs Makoto's arm and whispers quickly into his ear -

_"I believe you."_

That confirms it for her then. She saw Chihiro pick up the laptop to fix it up. Hopefully, Kyoko would be able to find a solution for him... I mean, she must be able to find one, right? Kyoko is... well, Kyoko.

Makoto smiles at her and nods. He believes in her - whatever mess he has found himself in this time, Makoto's sure that Kyoko would be able to help him out once again.

All he needs to do is wait.

* * *

"Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

_Andddd here we are._

Right as Monokuma finishes his sentence, Makoto rushes forwards and shoves Mukuro as hard as he could.

"Hey! What's the big..." Mukuro's sentence dies in her throat as she sees what she had just been spared from.

Dozens of spears, reaching up from the floor stabbed up into the empty air that Mukuro had been standing in just seconds ago.

_What...?_

"You okay, Junko?" Makoto looks down at her worriedly.

Mukuro didn't move however, still glued to the ground. For once in her life, her mind moved sluggishly, not able to process what just happened.

_Did Junko just try... to kill me?_

_And Makoto saved me?_

"You!" Monokuma turns its attention to Makoto. "How dare you interfere with a punishment! Why, just for that I might execute you instead!"

"No where in the rules does it say that I can be punished for interference with an execution. Punishing me would break your rules." Makoto perfectly recites Kyoko's line.

"Grrrrr..." Monokuma stares at Makoto with malice. For a second, everyone thought that Monokuma might kill Makoto anyway. But then, unexpectedly...

"Puhuhuhuhu... Sure, sure! This may be more interesting anyway! I won't even try to kill '_Junko'_ over here!" Monokuma waddles towards the exit, still giggling to himself.

"Next time though, I will DEFINITELY kill the rule breaker!"

And with that, Monokuma leaves.

* * *

"What did he want me to do? What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to just sit back, let my secret get revealed, and ruin everythi-"

This was it. It was time for Makoto to interfere again so that things don't get out of hand. Taking a deep breath, Makoto barges into the changing room.

"Mondo!"

"What the?" Mondo spins around in shock.

"Ah! M-Makoto!" Chihiro squeaks.

"What the hell are you-"

"Remember Daiya. Would he have wanted you to act like this? Don't pretend like his death was a murder. He wouldn't want you wallowing in self pity all the time! You are strong, Mondo Oowada. Prove it by overpowering your emotions."

"D-Daiya...? What... What the hell do you know about what he would have wanted...?" Mondo growls, stepping torwards Makoto.

Makoto shakes his head. "I was not as close to him as you are. Clear your head and ask yourself. Ask yourself what he would have wanted."

...

"You're one tough ass kid, you know that? Besides you, Daiya was the only one to lecture me like that."

"..."

"Tch. Whatever... Chihiro, I'll... talk to you tomorrow, okay?" Mondo shuffles out of the changing room with a scowl on his face.

_How the hell did he even know about Daiya? Whatever..._

"... Are you okay Chihiro?"

Upon hearing his name, Chihiro tenses up.

"Um... Makoto... About all of this I-"

To Chihiro's shock, Makoto shakes his head. "You don't need to say anything. See you later, Chihiro."

With a reassuring nod, Makoto leaves the changing room as well, leaving Chihiro to himself.

* * *

"Celeste." Not longer after Monokuma announced the billion yen motive, Makoto decides to save some time by approaching Celeste before she even has the chance to carry out her plan.

"Oh, Makoto." Celeste smiles in her usual sweet way. "Is there something that you need?"

Mustering up the courage, Makoto stares directly into her eyes.

"I know what you're planning."

Celeste subtly flinches.

_W-What the hell?! Did this kid just... read me?_

"Whatever do you mean?" Celeste asks, regaining her composure.

"You're going to use Yamada and then betray him, isn't that right?"

"..."

"Look, Celeste. We all want to get out of here. I know that you specifically want to get out of here the most. Not only that, you need that money for your dream."

"How the FUCK do you know about this?!" Celeste's mask breaks as she rages at Makoto.

"I've already told Kyoko about your plan as well. So don't target me either."

"So what?" Celeste sneers. "You two are just going to tell everyone else in the morning, aren't you? Then they will all shun me."

"No. We won't tell anyone. Nothing happened, so why would we?" Makoto replies calmly.

"Just know this, Celeste. Killing someone right now isn't worth it."

"YOU..." Celeste gives Makoto the deadliest glare she could muster.

Makoto returns her glare with a defiant look. It was clear that he wouldn't back down.

"... Fine. I concede. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yeah."

"Get out of my sight."

Nodding wordlessly, Makoto removes himself from Celeste's presence.

* * *

It was almost time for the final motive. Makoto has waited and waited, but Kyoko hasn't given him any updates. He was beginning to get worried - despite all of his hopes, has Kyoko failed to find a solution?

As Makoto explores the newest floor after Monokuma burned the money, he finds himself in the music room again. If the events happen the same way as they did the last two times, Kyoko would be here.

Sure enough...

"Kyoko!" She was inspecting the grand piano that was on stage with interest.

This time, it's Makoto who walks up to Kyoko expectantly.

"Oh, Makoto. How's your investigation so far?"

"Kyoko. Have you found a solution to..." Makoto glances worriedly at the camera in the room.

"To my issue?"

As if she was expecting it, Kyoko pulls out a piece of paper that had something written on it.

"Here." She drops the piece of paper into his hands.

...

**"Too little info. Only correlation is someone pushing the button to open the gates to the outside world. Actual causation and method is unknown. If you don't want to time travel, don't let anyone press the button to go outside."**

...

"W-What...?" Now that he thought about it, every time he time traveled, it was because someone pressed the button to open the door out.

Makoto suddenly winces in recollection. _Well, besides the one time Mukuro stabbed me..._

Kyoko shrugs nonchalantly. "Sorry. I don't know enough about it."

"Oh..."

"According to you, the last motive - the one where you get labeled as a traitor is coming up. You should prepare yourself."

"Right. Thanks Kyoko."

Kyoko nods wordlessly and leaves Makoto alone with his thoughts.

"I can't go outside, huh?"

* * *

"I for one, vote to have her live." Makoto comments. "She should be forced to atone for her acts. We should bring her back from the clutches of despair."

The last motive went over like a lead balloon with everyone, like last time. No one believed Monokuma at all. Everything went off without a hitch.

"Um, Mr. Naegi?" Yamada raises tentatively raises a finger. "Are you sure that's the right choice? I mean, what if Junko tries to set us up in another killing game? She can tamper with our memories, after all..."

"Oh man oh man... What are we supposed to do?" Hagakure grasps his head in his arms in a panic.

"Puhuhuhu..." An abrupt giggle interjects itself into their conversation.

"Isn't it obvious?" Junko whispers weakly, still laying on the floor. "Kill me. I tried to force all of you to kill your own friends. Isn't that the right thing to do?"

Struggling through her binds, Junko manages to get into a standing position. "Kill me. Face the despair! The entire world out there is completely filled with despair... Let the despair of the human race DESTROY you!"

Makoto shakes his head. "What I think is the right thing to do, is to keep Junko alive. Then, we bring her out from despair. Until the time is right, let's keep living here - like we promised the principal."

"S-Stay here...?" Chihiro asks nervously.

"Puhuhuhuhu..." Junko's voice drops to a dangerously low tone. "So that's how it is, huh? You've seen this all before and you failed."

At this, Makoto's heart freezes up. "W-What?"

Kyoko narrows her eyes at Junko. If she knew about this, then she might be the one responsible for Makoto's time traveling.

"Oh this is gonna be WAY better then my death! This Despair... It's going to eat you alive, Makoto!"

"Uh, what is she talking about?" Leon looks back and forth between Junko and Makoto, obviously confused about what was happening.

"Do you REALLY think that opening that door is the only trigger?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Junko's mouth contorts as she gives off a sadistic laugh.

"Here! Watch this, why don't ya?" Junko raises her arms up and all at once, the ropes that were tied around her fall off. She had somehow untied them in less then a minute.

"Sh-She's gonna run! Grab her!" Toko shrieks, pointing at her.

"Nuh uh!" Before anyone could react, Junko reaches up and grasps the black Monokuma pin that decorated her hair. The red lightning shaped eye shifts downward as Junko presses her fingers into it.

"There's no escape, Makoto Naegi! Revel in Despair!"


	20. Act 2, Chapter 3

**The 5th Killing School Game.**

Yet again, Makoto wakes up with a splitting headache.

On the bright side, at least he was starting to get used to it. Soon enough, he won't even mind it.

This time, Makoto doesn't bother to get up. He needed some time alone to think about this.

_Opening the door isn't the only trigger..._ Makoto thinks to himself as the headache subsides.

_Junko obviously knows about the time traveling thing then. Not only that, it's likely that she's the one responsible for sending him back in time..._

Okay then. Plan A: Ask Junko about this herself (somehow), figure how how she's doing it (somehow) and then have her get me out of this time loop. (somehow)

At this particular moment, Makoto felt exhausted. It was only the 5th time he had gone through this - not even double digits. But since each loop lasts for multiple weeks, seeing the same thing over and over quickly gets boring.

He had gone through the same song and dance in hopes that Kyoko would find an answer for him. Some part of him felt frustrated at Kyoko. The other part knows that he was being unfair for feeling that way.

He approached her with wild stories about time travel and expected her to magically conjure up a solution? Kyoko was amazing, but even this would be a bit too much.

So Kyoko couldn't help her. Mukuro seemed to be a wild card - she helped him out during that one time loop, but killed him in another. In both instances though, she expressed love for her sister.

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then! To all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...Oh yeah, Makoto Naegi, get your butt over here too!"_

"Ugh." Makoto finally rises from his desk, scratching his face. Apparently he had been thinking for so long that introductions were already over. This may put him at a disadvantage this time around.

* * *

"Well well well!" Monokuma's annoyingly high pitched voice practically shatters Makoto's ear drums. "Look who FINALLY decided to show up! You're holding up the line here buddy!"

"So there really was a 15th student?" Leon scans Makoto, unimpressed.

"Unacceptable! For a student to be so tardy... It is inexcusable!" Ishimaru's booming voice stomps on the fragments of Makoto's ear drums. Why the hell is his ears so sensitive this time around?

"Sorry... So what's going on here?" Makoto asks, despite knowing fully well what's about to happen.

"Oh it's just an entrance ceremony." Hagakure nods reassuringly.

"Puhuhuhu! Well now that everyone's here... I can finally make my dramatic entrance!"

_*Boing*_

Monokuma pops up from the ground and sits on the podium.

"Huh? A teddy bear?" Chihiro asks nervously.

"I bet he's the headmaster of this academy." Makoto comments.

Mondo turns around to meet his eyes. "What the hell kind of assumption is that?"

"Puhuhuhu! Ahoge boy is right! I'm Monokuma, the headmaster of this academy!"

From the corner of his eyes, he notices that Kyoko narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Monokuma confirmed his 'guess.'

_I should really tone it down, huh... This isn't a very good first impression._

"Whaaaa?!" Yamada recoils and points at Monokuma. "The teddy bear can talk!"

"Calm down. I'm sure there's just a speaker in it." Ishimaru says comfortingly.

_Here we go again... I'm gonna stay in line though._

* * *

"I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Hey guys. We shouldn't be fighting." Makoto steps in between Byakuya and Mondo once again.

Now that he thought about it, it was extremely obvious that Mondo was going to punch him. He should have dodged this from the start.

"The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch?" Mondo snarls, cracking his muscles. "Get outta my way you fainting pansy! The fuck you think you are, my dad?"

"Calm down..." Makoto shakes his head disapprovingly.

"FUCK YOU!" Mondo roars and swings his arm.

_*Whiff!*_

Makoto dodges the punch once again.

Mondo stumbles as he misses once again.

"Ugh! Fuckin' bastard!" Mondo tries winding up another punch but before he could, Sakura holds his arm back.

"That is enough." Sakura says with a dangerous aura. "This is no time to be fighting."

Being lectured face to face with Sakura was enough to placate Mondo. "Whatever..."

Sakura turns her attention to Makoto. "Nice dodge. I didn't expect you to have such quick reflexes, to be honest."

Makoto smiles. "I didn't expect it either."

* * *

Makoto convinces Sayaka to not kill Leon.

Makoto shoves Mukuro away from the spears.

Makoto helps to placate Mondo's temper.

Makoto stops Celeste from going through with her scheme.

And now, once again, the 4th motive is here.

...

"Puhuhuhuhu! That's right! In fact, from the very start of this whole game, Makoto had been working for me! Isn't that sweet?" Monokuma twirls the wooden stick in his paws, giggling to himself.

"What the hell?! Makoto's a spy?" Mondo's head snaps to Makoto as he stares at him in shock.

"No way!" Asahina stares desperately at Makoto. "Is this true?"

"There was another one working for Monokuma all along...?"

"... I can't say that I'm surprised that Makoto would be revealed as a traitor." Byakuya rolls his eyes in contempt. "Makoto obviously knew more then any of us. That was proven when he pushed Mukuro out of the way."

"KILL THE TRAITOR!" Toko hisses while backing up from Makoto.

Mukuro, glaring at Monokuma, speaks up. "Makoto-"

"HEY HEY HEY!" The monochrome bear interrupts Mukuro before she could get past her first word. "Remember the new rule! Or do you feel like going through another execution?"

"..." Mukuro closes her mouth, but kept her murderous glare trained on Monokuma.

"Oh boy! If looks could kill, I would be bear steak by now! Anyway, I would like to present a freebie perk as well!"

"F-Freebie?" Hagakure's head perk up.

"Don't look so interested man!" Leon smacks Hagakure on the shoulder roughly.

"Puhuhuhuhu! Anyone who kills Makoto Naegi graduates right away! No trial, no investigation, you get to get out of here completely free! No strings attached!"

"Seriously...?" Makoto shakes his head in disbelief.

"Do what you will with this information! Puhuhuhuhu!"

...

"Is this the honest truth, Monokuma? Has Makoto been a spy since the start?" Kyoko suddenly asks.

_What?_

Makoto whirls around, looking at Kyoko in shock. This didn't happen before!

"Why of course!" Monokuma smiles evilly. "Didn't you notice that Makoto was rather late? He and I were forging our contract!"

"N-No! He and I didn't even talk back then!" Makoto looks around in a panic. "I'm not a spy!"

Hagakure frowns. "I dunno man, it's not like Monokuma has ever lied to us before. Besides, I can't lie - you're kind of suspicious."

"To be quite frank, Makoto has been on my mind for a while." Byakuya interjects. "He knew before any of us that Monokuma was the headmaster. He wasn't surprised when Monokuma showed his form either - nor was he surprised when Monokuma revealed the killing game to us either."

"Now that you mention it..." Yamada rubs his chin with his finger and thumb. "I've noticed that Mr. Naegi had just been keeping silent back then."

"T-Thats-"

"In fact..." Byakuya interrupts with a glare. "Ever since then, I have been observing his reactions carefully. I don't think he has shown any signs of shock once during the entire game."

"... I can confirm that. I've been observing him as well." Kyoko nods in agreement "Out of all of us, Makoto has been the most suspicious."

"Puhuhuhuhu! He's such a terrible actor, isn't he?" Monokuma guffaws. "Yes, since the very start, Makoto has been my pawn! In exchange, I've forewarned him about every single motive. On top of that, I let him have access to all of the cameras in this place!"

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto shouts in a panic. "I didn't have access to any cameras, nor was I warned about the motives!"

"A-Actually..." Chihiro tentatively speaks up. "Mondo and I were talking alone one day... I think Mondo started to loose his temper, but Makoto stepped in and calmed him down at the perfect moment."

Sayaka slowly nods. "Um... Makoto knew some stuff about me that he couldn't have unless he saw me doing them..."

"So, that's how you knew about what I was doing, hm?" Celeste giggles softly. "It makes sense now."

"G-Guys..." Makoto mumbles weakly. "I swear..."

"He hasn't shown any shock during the motives either. In fact, I suspect that he knew about them beforehand which correlates correctly with Monokuma's account." Kyoko adds.

"I can't believe Makoto has been a traitor all along..." Asahina looks down sadly.

"I..." Makoto flubs around for an excuse.

"Well, Makoto?" Byakuya, along with everyone else turns to face him. "Do you have an explanation or not?"

Makoto had a perfectly legitimate explanation. Too bad that there was literally no way that any of them would believe a tale about time traveling.

"..."

Before Makoto could respond...

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"_

"Hmph. Saved by the bell. I believe that the best course of action for you right now would be to stay in your room. Good luck, traitor." Byakuya scoffs in disgust.

"..." Wordlessly, Makoto shuffles to his dorm room. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. For the first time, Makoto starts to fear that someone would murder him.

_But this is my fault. It's my fault that I didn't even try to act surprised to anything. It's my fault that I didn't show emotion._

_It's my fault that I acted more distant to my classmates._

_It's my fault that I didn't act as their friend._

_It's my fault that I didn't even try to defend myself._

_My fault._

_..._


	21. Act 2, Chapter 4

Last time around, it was 2 weeks before Junko took action. She only took action because no one even tried to kill Makoto though. Now that everyone thinks badly of Makoto... Junko might not even need to take action.

Junko had Makoto's reaction to her motive on tape - she had played it over and over and over and over and over again to herself. This was the closest thing Junko had seen to Makoto falling into Despair. She needed to treasure this moment!

Makoto's face falling flat as he realizes that his classmates don't trust him...

His weak attempts at defending himself...

It wasn't true Despair but it was pretty damn close. And that was good enough for Junko - for now, at least.

At any rate, Makoto's reaction would be more then enough to keep her satisfied for way longer then 2 weeks.

Obviously, this was bad for Makoto.

* * *

_Day 8_

Makoto Naegi was fast asleep in his dorm. It was currently midnight - 2 hours past the midnight announcement. For the first couple of days, Makoto locked his door. But eventually, he started to forget to do so. Part of it had to do with the fact that no one tried to attack him so far. Another part of it had to do with the fact that he almost never locked his room anyway.

At any rate, Makoto was completely asleep in his room, alone. His door wasn't even locked.

_*creee...*_

Makoto's dorm room creaks open.

...

_*pat pat pat...*_

Soft footsteps emanate from the entrance. They get louder as the intruder approaches the asleep Makoto.

_"This is for being a spy... This is for being a traitor... Makoto Naegi."_ The intruder whispers to themselves.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Hm?" Makoto lazily rubs his eyes as he jolts awake.

...

...

...

"AHHHHH-"

...

* * *

**The** **6th**** Killing School Game.**

Pain.

Once more, this is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

Makoto swings his head up and looks around in a panic.

_Did I just... Was_ I...

Makoto's eyes widened as he realizes that he was attacked. He was killed. By one of his classmates.

_No..._

He was killed by that person? Out of all of his classmates, they were the one that decided Makoto should die? Makoto couldn't believe it.

In the last moments of his life, Makoto looked into their eyes. There was some remorse - some regret. But another emotion had completely overshadowed it.

It was satisfaction.

They were satisfied that he was going to die.

They were satisfied with sacrificing him to get out of there.

Makoto clutches his head as tears come out. It was too much. This was too much. He would be forced to sit through the Killing Game again. He would have to save his classmates again. This time though, he would...

He would fake his emotions?

Makoto stumbles towards the main hall in a daze.

In order to survive... In order to prevent himself from being murdered...

He would have to fake everything. His emotions, his reactions...

He would need to lie over and over again to his classmates.

But if that would let all of them escape this place alive... He would do it. If that's what was needed to bring Junko out of her locked room, he would do it.

He will escape this time loop. Then, he will escape this school with all of his friends.

* * *

Again. Yet again. Makoto goes through the act o

_"The definit__ion of_

f saving everyone. Sayaka, Mondo, Celeste... He stops them from murd

_ insanity is doing the same _

ering. He saves his friends again.

thing_ over and over_

He reaches the end game once again. This time though,

_ again, but expecting _

Makoto was backed up by his friends. Junko's motive failed.

_different results."_

And now...

* * *

Makoto shakes his head. "What I think is the right thing to do, is to keep Junko alive. Then, we bring her out from despair. Together, we will rebuild the world. We will bring forth Hope from this world of Despair!"

"Oh, come ON!" Junko glares at the students surrounding her. "Will you let this dumb ahoge kid boss you around?! I KILLED YOUR FAMILIES! I KILLED YOUR FRIENDS!"

"..."

"You! Byakuya! You know your precious butler that was in the motive video? I personally tortured him. I saw his life leave his eyes. Don't you want to take revenge?" Junko sneers evilly at the affluent prodigy.

"..."

"Sayaka! I killed off your entire pop group!"

"..."

Spinning 180 degrees, Junko turns to look at Celeste. "I strangled the FUCK out of your dumb cat!"

"..."

"Dude, this chick is seriously fucked up." Mondo glares at Junko, clenching his fists.

"But we can't kill her! Through the whole game, not a single one of us let her win. No murders happened. What would be the point if we killed her? That would just mean that the Killing Game really worked."

"Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Junko lunges at Makoto, screeching.

"Not so fast." Sakura grabs her out of the air and tosses her back onto the ground.

"Ugh..."

"Let's put it to a vote, then." Mukuro, who had been staying silent ever since Junko woke up, suddenly speaks up.

"Wait!" Makoto raises his hand.

"Hm?" Mukuro, who was controlling Monokuma, looks at Makoto quizzically.

"Before we vote... May I request some time alone with Junko? I need to ask her something."

"..." Junko stares at Makoto intensely.

"You want to... ask her something?" Sayaka asks.

"Yes. It won't take long, I promise. Please, it's important."

"..."

"Very well. I have no issues with this." Sakura is the first to leave the gym.

Then, Hagakure leaves. "Not sure what you want with her, but good luck man."

"Y-You better not do anything perverted, Mr. Naegi!"

"Hmph. I suppose I can give you some time."

"M-Master, wait for me!"

"Ask her whatever you want."

One by one, his classmates leave the gym.

"Ok, Makoto. Do what you need to do."

"..."

"Good luck, Makoto."

"I-I wonder what you plan to ask her...?

"I'll give you as much time as you need Makoto!"

"Just hurry it up, huh?"

"You got this bro!"

"Do as you will."

...

The only people in the gym were Makoto and Junko.

"Oh, Makoto. Are you gonna have your way with me before deciding my faith? Naughty boy!"

Rolling his eyes, Makoto sits down on the floor next to her. "How are you doing this?"

"Hm?"

"How are you making me time travel over and over?"

"..."

"Please... Tell me."

"Hahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Junko laughs wildly, kicking her feet up. "That's great! That's WONDERFUL!"

"Huh?!"

"You think that I would tell you? That would defeat the whole purpose!"

"..."

"You will Despair, Makoto Naegi! I don't care how bright your Hope is! It's NOTHING compared to the experience that comes with _Eternal Despair_!"

"Junko... Why are you obsessed with Despair? Can you at least explain it to me?"

Junko's eyes widen as she writhes in pleasure. "Despair is an unknown. Because of my super analytic ability, I was thoroughly bored with this world. The "hope" you long for is just a preexisting harmony. But despair was the one thing that was different. The heart-racing excitement of messy despair has a taste like you've never known!"

By this point, Junko had started drooling so much that a bunch of it spilled onto the floor.

"Hope is harmony. A just heart, moving toward the light. That is all. Despair is hope's polar opposite. It is messy and confusing. Despair shallows up love, hatred, and everything else. Because not knowing where you will end up is despair. Despair is both pain and pleasure to me!"

"You wanna know why I specifically targeted you for this time loop? It's because you're the most hopeful one out there! I would just LOVE to crush your spirits! Revel, Makoto. You will face Despair soon enough!"

"Makoto Naegi... Is in a time loop?"

Both Makoto and Junko turn to look at the source of the third voice.

Mukuro Ikusaba was standing near the entrance, arms crossed.

"M-Mukuro?!" Makoto asks in shock. "You were eavesdropping?"

"I needed to hear what you had to say." Mukuro shrugs. "Sorry."

"Well now, if it isn't my dumb ugly sister! That's right Mukuro. He's in a permanent time loop! Isn't that amazing?!"

"Mukuro, do you know how to get me out of this?"

"Oh, she doesn't. But even if she did know, why would she tell you? The amount of Despair that would come from seeing your beloved descend into insanity... It would be soul-crushing!"

"Seeing my beloved descend into insanity..." Mukuro's gaze darkens as she repeats Junko's words.

...

"Wait a minute... Are you talking about me?!" Makoto gasps and looks at Mukuro.

"..."

"Wow. Makoto, you know that my ugly sister here has a thing for you, right? There's no way that you're this dense." Junko stares at the luckster, dumbfounded.

"Junko..." Mukuro says hesitantly. "When you saw Matsuda die... Can you describe that?"

"Oooh! You wanna hear, huh?" Junko's eyes glaze over in recollection.

"Seeing Matsuda die... Stomping on his face... Oh, it was so despairful that I could have killed myself right then and there!" Junko squeals.

"The depressingly pathetic look of his body left me crying for _hours_, Mukuro! It felt like my heart and soul were being ripped apart! It was pure bliss!"

Mukuro tries to picture doing that to Makoto. She imagines strangling him with her bare hands and then unloading a full clip of bullets into his body. She imagines watching him get torn into pieces by guard dogs.

His red blood, staining every spot in her vision. His limp body, once so full of hope, completely lifeless.

"This... is Despair...?" Mukuro's body shakes violently as sadness crashes into her mind.

"Yes Mukuro! Do you feel it?! Imagine that feeling, multiplied by 10! That's how watching Makoto turn into Despair would feel for you!"

Tears slowly slide down Mukuro's face as she gasps for air. "M-Makoto..."

"Mukuro! Are you okay?!" Makoto was completely caught off guard by Mukuro crying. In all the two years Makoto had gone to school with her, not once has she cried.

"Hey, since it would make him time travel back to the past again, why not kill him right now? It will all reset anyway." Junko says, eyes swirling.

"Don't you want to feel the _Despair_?"

"..."

"N-No."

"Huh?" Makoto is caught off guard once again. Wasn't she supposed to be Ultimate Despair? Why would she refuse a chance to feel Despair?

"... What?" Junko reacts in a similar manner.

"Junko... I've always tried my hardest to feel the same Despair you do. But... whenever I Despair, it feels... horrible. Not the horrible you describe - the one where you feel both pain and pleasure. It's just... painful." Mukuro says, avoiding eye contact with her sister.

"..."

"I went along with your plans for _your_ sake, Junko. It always made me happy to see you happy. I lived for you. Junko, _I love you_. But I don't love Despair. Not in the same way you do."

"Mukuro..." So this whole time, Mukuro hadn't been a true Ultimate Despair? She was just doing all of this for her sister...

"Puhuhuhu... Oh, Mukuro..." Junko gives her a simple smile.

"Junko?"

"I don't love you."

Mukuro flinches, as if she had just been slapped.

"In fact, I hate you. You have always been a disappointment to me, Mukuro." Junko continues to deadpan at her sister. "Not once in my life have I ever thought of you as a real sister. You might as well have been a stranger."

"No, Junko... That's not true!" Mukuro cries out, grabbing her shoulders. "You love me too, don't you Junko?! All of the time we spent together..."

"How many times do I have to say it, you fucking bitch?! I HATE YOU!" Junko screams.

"NOO!"

"YES! WHY DON'T YOU GET IT MUKURO?!" Junk was screaming so loud now that even the other students could probably hear them. "I DON'T LOVE YOU! IN FACT, NO ONE LOVES YOU! NOT ME, NOT MAKOTO, NOT ANY OF YOUR CLASSMATES! YOU'RE JUST A TOOL!"

"YOU'RE NOT WANTED!"

Mukuro was hyperventilating now. She looked like she could collapse at any second.

"That's enough, Junko! STOP IT!" Makoto roars, clutching his fists. This was possibly the angriest Makoto had ever been. How could Junko say this stuff to her sister, her own flesh and blood?! It was wrong. There was no excuse for this.

Stomping over to Mukuro, Makoto grasps her hand so tightly that his fists turn white.

"Mukuro. Are you listening to me? Can you hear me?"

Weakly, Mukuro nods.

"Then hear this. It's the absolute, honest truth."

Mukuro nods once more.

"Mukuro Ikusaba, you are wanted in this world. All of our classmates, including me - hrk!"

Makoto is interrupted as someone grabs his neck from behind.

_Junko_

She's been out of her binds for a while now. She was completely free to move however she wants. Yet Makoto turned his back on her?

"Mukuro..." Junko whispers softly. "You may be a dissapointment and a waste of space, but you're still my sister."

Junko starts to squeeze.

"Ack!" Makoto gasps as his oxygen supply gets cut off.

"Despite everything, you're family. You say you wanted to feel the same Despair as me? I can help you do that."

Junko squeezes even harder.

"You just need to fall into Despair. Seeing this should do the trick, I think."

"Makoto..." Mukuro could only stare at Makoto, helpless as his life drains away. Mukuro had mever felt so weak - so vulnerable.

If she wanted, she could knock her sister away and free Makoto. But for some reason, it felt like that would be an impossible task. She couldn't do anything but watch.

"..." Makoto's face turns purple.

Junko's face breaks into a face splitting grin as she digs her nails into his Adam's Apple. Blood drips out from his neck as darkness overtakes his vision.

"MAKOTO!" That wasn't the voice of Mukuro. Had someone else gone into the gym?

"You know, I thought you already were in Despair sis. I guess I was wrong." Junko says tonelessly.

Mukuro, still grasping Makoto's hand while he slowly dies, shakes her head.

"S-Stop..."

In response, Junko tightens her grip even harder.

"Don't worry Mukuro." Junk purrs, eyes rolling up to the back of her head. "You will feel the Despair you've always wanted to feel."

* * *

***A/N* Junko and Mukuro are so hard to write...**


	22. Act 2, Chapter 5

**The 7th Killing Game.**

Pain.

Once more, this is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

This time though, it wasn't just his head. His throat was also searing, as if it was set on fire.

Coughing roughly, Makoto falls out of the desk, grasping his neck. When Junko stabbed through his Adam's Apple with her nails, it felt as if every single nerve in his body was being stabbed. It was the worst pain Makoto could have possibly imagined.

"AUGH!"

Makoto vomits on the floor, still rubbing his neck. It was horrible. It was all so horrible.

And yet it still wasn't over. He was murdered by Junko, which means he was back here. He was going to have to go through several more weeks of the same thing. Several more weeks of faking his emotions, watching the same thing happen over and over again.

He has been working for so long... All he wanted to do was save his friends. But now, he was back at the start. Once again, he would have to do everything over again. He couldn't even comfort Mukuro... Junko killed him before he could.

_Junko._

_Junko Enoshima._

_Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko Junko._

She was the catalyst. Everything that happened - the Killing Game, the apocalypse, this time loop... It was all of her doing. And the only reason why she had done all of this was...

Despair.

Somehow, Junko had literally invented a time machine. And the only reason she did so was to drive him to Despair.

Makoto felt completely exhausted and worn down... But he wasn't Despairing.

Yet.

_I need to be able to defend myself._

Makoto had been killed three times now. He hadn't ever felt the need to learn martial arts or self defense techniques but now would be the time. Being strangled like that by Junko... That was the last straw. It would certainty give him an advantage during the rest of his time loops anyway.

Dragging himself up, Makoto slowly walks to the main hall, ready to introduce himself.

Again.

* * *

"Hey Sakura... I know that you said I won't be fit to be your training partner but... can you train me in the way of martial arts?" Makoto glances up at Sakura hopefully.

It was the day after Makoto saved Mukuro - he had stopped both Sayaka's murder and Mukuro's murder. Makoto approached Sakura just after they had wrapped up the usual morning meetings to drop this question on her.

"Hm. You didn't strike me as the type to pursue martial arts, Makoto." Sakura looks at Makoto strangely.

"Well... I don't think that anyone would try to attack me, but better to be safe then sorry, right?"

"... Very well. I would be happy to give you lessons."

Makoto nods, relieved. "Thanks Sakura!"

"We can do our lessons in the after the morning meetings." Sakura glamces at him with a touch of curiosity. "I wonder..."

"Hm?"

"It is nothing. See you."

The training with Sakura served two purposes.

The first, and most obvious purpose, was to teach himself self defense. He would prefer to not be killed any more then what was necessary. after all. Since he was going back through time, muscle training was completely useless. It would all reset after some time anyway. But if he learned more tactical ways of fighting, such as pressure points and martial arts, then that could carry over.

The second purpose was a lot more selfish - he wanted to keep himself entertained.

It was like reading a novel over and over again. You skim over the parts you already know - reading it but not really paying much attention. Except this wasn't a novel - Makoto couldn't simply fast forward through the parts he had already gone through.

Doing things differently, such as asking for Sakura to train him, helped keep him from getting bored.

* * *

The only people in the gym were Makoto and Junko.

The same situation, save for 2 key details. First, Makoto had made sure to lock the gym doors so that Mukuro wouldn't butt in. Knowing her, she could probably just smash down the door if she really wanted to, but hopefully this was enough to at least dissuade her.

"Oh, Makoto. Are you gonna have your way with me before deciding my faith? Naughty boy!"

The second...

"I'll be taking these..." Makoto walks over to Junko and takes both of her hair clips.

"What the - hey! What's the big deal?!" Junko whines.

"Come on, Junko. You already know what the big deal is."

"Alright, alright. How many times has it been so far, huh? I wanna know!"

Makoto eyebrows scrunch up as he attempts to recall.

"If I recall correctly, 7 times."

"Awwwww, really?" Junko pouts. "That's way to little!"

"Junko! Tell me how I can stop all of this!" Makoto knows that Junko would likely never tell him, but he still needed to try.

"Alright, alright." Junko's face straightens out as she takes a deep breath. "I'll tell you."

"Huh?" Makoto stares at her, mouth open. "Really?"

"Yeah! All you gotta do is invent your own time machine! Now isn't that simple?" Junko gives him a sweetly sick grin.

"... Fine. I'll find out on my own." With that said, Makoto turns around as he begins to unlock the gym doors to let everyone back in.

"Good luck with that!"

As soon as Makoto opens the door, he finds himself standing face to face with Mukuro.

"Oh, Mukuro. Um, can you bring me to everyone else? I'm done talking to Junko."

Wordlessly, Mukuro nods and motions for Makoto to follow her.. As she turns around however, Makoto couldn't help but see a tinge of disappointment register on her face.

* * *

"Before you ask, I do believe you. Your 'predictions' have all came true. So I suppose there's no real reason to doubt you."

Makoto pulled aside Kyoko to talk to her about his plan. With her being the Ultimate Detective, she could really help him out after all. During this loop, Makoto had already told her about his time traveling and most of the important details of it. Like last time, he told her a couple of predictions in order to prove that he at the very least knew what was going to happen.

"Thanks Kyoko. But I want your opinion on a plan of mine."

Kyoko motions with her hand for Makoto to continue.

"I... I want to stay inside of Hope's Peak. During our time here, I want to investigate the school and find any hints about my time loop as well as any hints on how to break me out of it. Since we have access to the control room, then unlocking all of the rooms in this school shouldn't be much of an issue."

Kyoko looks at Makoto with mild surprise. "That's a surprisingly selfish plan."

"Huh?"

"Keeping all of us in here just so that you can investigate your own problem? It's selfish no matter how you put it."

Makoto's face reddens as he realizes that Kyoko was right. What he wanted to do was pretty selfish.

"I can't really blame you though. This problem of yours could probably be an actual living nightmare if you never do anything about it. It's basically immortality but worse."

"You say that you want my opinion? I think you should go along with it. If you really are a time traveler, then none of this will matter anyway right? We're just gonna go back to the past again."

Kyoko was right, of course. He would just go back in the past and his classmates would forget any of this would have happened. The thought of it still made him feel guilty though. He was _using_ his friends just to save himself from a bad fate.

"O-Okay... I'm going to find a way out of this time loop. After that, we can all move forwards. Forwards to face the world."

* * *

"What I think is the right thing to do, is to keep Junko alive. Then, we bring her out from despair. Until the time is right, let's keep living here - like we promised the principal."

Makoto looks at the rest of his classmates as they stand outside of the gym.

"S-Stay here...?" Chihiro asks nervously.

"Yeah. We can leave anytime we want, right? At the very least, we should think it over. It's not like we have a time limit or anything."

"Ah, taking the safe route Mr. Naegi? Can't say that I'm surprised. You _are_ quite the passive student." Yamada nods in approval.

"We can put restrictions on her or something to make sure that she doesn't try to do anything fucked up." Leon suggests.

"I think that keeping her imprisoned is the optimal choice." Byakuya says. "We can lock her into one of the dorms and deliver her food in a daily basis."

Hagakure shrugs. "I dunno man, isn't that kind of inhumane or something?"

"The alternative would be letting her roam free."

"Well why don't we just take her outside? She could atone for her acts."

Mukuro clears her throat. "Seeing that you're all so divided... Why don't we take a vote?"

Makoto nods. "I don't see why not. It would be fair and more organized this way."

"Is there anyone here who would want to stay inside of the school for the time being?"

9 hands go up. Makoto, Kyoko, Yamada, Ishimaru, Mondo, Sayaka, Leon, Byakuya, and Toko.

"And those who would want to go to the outside world right away?"

5 hands go up. Sakura, Asahina, Hagakure, Celeste, and Chihiro.

"You're not voting, Mukuro?" Makoto asks curiously. They weren't even discussing Junko's life this time, yet Mukuro seemed to insist on remaining neutral.

Mukuro shrugs noncommittally. "I honestly don't have a preference. I guess it's decided though."

The 6 students who have been outvoted seemed a bit downcast, but they still accepted the outcome - it wasn't like they were gonna stay here forever anyway. Besides, now with Junko restrained, they wouldn't need to fear for their lives anymore.

"Mukuro, can you unlock the next floor as well as the locked doors?" Kyoko asks.

"... I'll get to that right now."

As Mukuro leaves, the rest of the students go back to the gym where Junko was still tied up on the floor.

_*zzzzzz...*_

Junko snores in an exaggerated manner, apparently asleep.

"J-Junko?" Chihiro asks hesitantly.

"Huh? Oh, you guys. Man, you guys took so long that I fell dead asleep!" Junko complains, rolling her eyes.

"We've decided that we will stay here. You will be restrained in your room"

"Oh, I kind of figured. Let me just ask Makoto, how many times?"

"Huh?"

"How many times will you go through this before you finally learn? You can't beat Despair."

Once again, Junko takes her binds off calmly.

"I will beat Despair Junko! No matter how many times you kick me down, I will get back up."

The rest of his classmates, save for Kyoko, looks on in confusion.

"Big talk for a tiny kid!" Junko rolls her eyes in contempt. "Let's see you get back up after I kick you down once again then, huh? Destroy your plans again. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Wha-"

***SMASH***

Junko slams her boot down onto the floor as hard as possible. Surprisingly, (or not surprisingly) enough, the floorboard shifts downwards and a clicking noise is heard.

"More then just one trigger Makoto. More then just two, more then just three, more then just four... You're gonna fucking off yourself before you find all of them."

Makoto had set up his plan and was ready to investigate the school.

But it didn't matter.

It never mattered.

* * *

**The 8th Killing Game.**


	23. Poll Announcement

***A/N* **

**I have created a poll for those who are interested. I'm going to write two endings for this fic - A good ending, and a bad ending.**

**The good ending will be short and sweet.**

**The bad ending is going to be significantly longer and will contain both a Despairful Naegi, and an indifferent Naegi.**

**Basically, which one should I write and publish first? Tell me through the poll (It can be found on my profile)**


	24. Act 2, Chapter 6

_"How many times will you go through this before you finally learn? You can't beat Despair."_

_"More then just one trigger Makoto. More then just two, more then just three, more then just four... You're gonna fucking off yourself before you find all of them."_

Makoto was naive. He should have known that no matter what, Junko wouldn't submit. She would fight to the end to see him in Despair, and it was only now that he realized it.

He needed to investigate this school without tipping her off. If she knew what he was trying to do, she would just send him back in time again. It would result in the same thing no matter what.

Makoto once suggested to Kyoko that if he could destroy the time machine, then this loop might be broken.

_"That's a stupid solution. There's no guarantee that it would work. Sure, it's an easy alternative to trying to figure out how it works, but is this really the time for easy solutions?"_

As always, Kyoko was right. Investigating any clues for this time machine was the first step to solving this problem. From there, he could think up of a solution.

_One step at a time, Makoto... Find out where the hell this time machine is first..._

* * *

"I'm really sorry to come by so late..."

Yet again, Sayaka comes to Makoto's room. It was almost night time.

"Sayaka? What are you doing out here so late?" Makoto asks again, fake concern tainting his voice. He knew that she was making herself look weaker so that she could convince him to let her stay in his room. But he also knew that she really did feel weak from the motive videos. That was probably why she could act so convincingly.

_Yeah yeah, time to go through this again. Save everyone and then try to investigate the school..._

Then, Makoto paused. Ever since he had time traveled to the past for the first time, he hasn't gotten a chance to truly investigate the school. In fact, the last floor hasn't even been unlocked yet. Junko was always stopped before it could be unlocked.

"Sorry to bother you, but something weird just happened..." Her voice sounds so far away...

"Something weird?" Makoto automatically replies.

The only chance we had ever gotten to investigate the whole school was when Junko unlocked everything for the final case... Which happened after my failed execution.

He had gotten practically unrestricted access to every room in the school. Wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity to investiagte for the time machine?

But in order to get to that point, his friends had to die.

"Just a little while ago, I was laying down in my room... And all of a sudden, my door started rattling and shaking."

Sayaka would have to be murdered.

Leon would have to be executed.

And many more would have to die the same way.

Could he really do this? Time traveling meant that everyone could be revived again... He wasn't trying to escape the time loop yet, just find information... So in theory, wouldn't letting his friends die be worth it?

They would be brought back...

"S-So what happened?" Makoto asks for only the second time.

_This isn't the wrong choice. It doesn't matter anyway. Everyone will come back like they did last time. This is actually for their own good. _Makoto tries convincing himself but it doesn't stop the crushing weight of guilt from falling on his heart.

"After a while, it just...stopped. I let some time go by, then I got up and opened the door to check outside... But there was nobody there." Sayaka shivers

...

Fuck it.

...

"Someone tried to force their way into your room? But who would do that?"

* * *

Makoto runs from the cafeteria as the other students discussed her absence. It was the same as last time - he switched rooms with Sayaka and the next morning, she was absent from the meeting. Makoto knew fully well what happened but still panicked and ran to his room to check on her anyway.

He enters the room and makes a bee line to the restroom.

_Wait a minute..._ Makoto thinks as he opens the door to his bathroom. _Did I just let Sayaka die?_

Why would this thought be crossing his mind now? The answer was obvious. He made the decision to let Sayaka try her murder plan. He willingly decided that temporarily sacrificing his friends would be an even trade for stopping the time machine.

There it was. Again, Sayaka's body is sitting down on the floor up against a wall. Like last time, a knife was sticking into her and there was the word LEON written upside down next to her.

Last time he had seen this, he screamed and fainted. That was because he wasn't expecting it.

Makoto was expecting it this time - he made the concious decision to let Sayaka die.

Even so, he still screamed. It wasn't acting at all, mind you. It was a scream of pure terror and guilt as what he had done settled into his mind. Makoto Naegi, the friend to all, just let his classmate die. And he was going to let another eight or so die. For what? For his own needs? Oh, Makoto. He felt himself go sick with rage. Rage at no one except for himself.

Her body slowly warps and contorts as an annoying buzzing noise fills his head.

_whywhywhywhywhywhy_

The ends justify the means? Isn't that what evil tyrants who execute people say? Go on, Makoto. _Scream_ your fucking heart out as you look at the pain you have _wrought_. It's all too much, you know. You escaped the first killing game but now you want to reenact it once again?

Blood, blood, blood. It's everywhere. Why is it everywhere? It was just a single stab wound.

_Just a single stab wound._

Makoto, still screaming, looks around. He looks at **EVERYTHING**. The **WALLS**, the **CEILING**, his **BODY**, his **BEDROOM**, all of it was splattered with the **BLOOD** of his victim. Yes, victim.

_I KILLED SAYAKA._

Everything was bloodied. It didn't make sense. He had run through the bedroom himself and opened the door himself but there was no blood anywhere. Just some signs of a struggle. Now, blood. Blood everywhere. But most of all, there was blood on his hands. Why wouldn't there be? He killed Sayaka.

"I KILLED SAYAKA!"

See? He said so himself. This would make the class trial so much easier.

Insanely, Makoto remembered something that happened long ago. He was the only one here who retained his memories of his school life, after all.

He was hanging out with Sayaka during the summer. They stopped by an ice cream store to get something sweet to eat but Makoto, being the unlucky person he is, dropped his wallet somewhere. So Sayaka bought an ice cream for him.

That's all. It was an insignificant memory, one that was long forgotten, but for some reason this was the first thing that came to mind.

_My hands_

They were completely covered in blood - Sayaka's.

There was so much. It clotted on his hands, creating horrible disfigured gloves. Pieces of it flaked off as he clenched and unclenched his fists in horror.

He was still screaming.

He rationalized this decision in his mind. "Her death isn't permanent" and "This is for her own good as well" were repeated dozens of times. So why was he breaking down?

Someone was shaking his shoulder and crying out his name. Who was it? Who cares? All that mattered is that Makoto killed Sayaka. And soon he was going to kill Leon too.

_Because that's just what I am. A murderer._

Sayaka's body distorts even further as it quickly turns gray. How did it decompose so fast? Her body, excreting pus and blood, is riddled with holes as maggots quickly move in and out of her body.

The buzzing noise transforms into a high pitched beeping one. Slowly and deliberately, Makoto touches his ears and looks at his fingers. There were tiny ants crawling all over his blood covered hands. Because why not?

Pain pulsed deep within his head as he stumbles backwards and falls down, only to be caught by someone - Makoto looks up.

It was Sayaka's corpse. Looking back, he sees that Sayaka's original corpse was still laying down, dead. Great. There were two Sayaka's that he killed.

Black spots dance in his vision as the Sayaka holding him up looks into his eyes. Her mouth horribly contorts as she speaks. What does she say? It doesn't matter. All that matters was that Makoto killed her. At least, that's what he thinks.

It's a shame.


	25. Act 2, Chapter 7

_What happened to your hope, Makoto?_

_It's like you said. Nothing here is permanent._

_Do what you will. Let go of your guilt._

_You haven't Despaired yet, Makoto. Not truly._

* * *

Makoto opens his eyes. He is greeted with the roof of a familiar looking ceiling.

"What...?" Glancing around, Makoto realizes that he is in the nurses office. "Why am I here...?"

"Oh, you're awake!"

Makoto glances up to see himself face to face with...

Asahina.

"You passed out when you discovered Sayaka's body. We were all kind of worried, you know?"

"I discovered her body?" Makoto's face scrunches up as he thinks back.

_I time traveled again and had just decided that trying to re-investigate the school again might be the better course of option. But from there..._

"Yeah... Then you went a little bit psycho." Asahina fidgets uncomfortably.

"Huh?"

"You were screaming about how you killed Sayaka and that it was all of your fault." Asahina glances at him. "That wasn't true, was it?"

"What?! Of course I didn't!" Makoto quickly sits up. "Did I really say that I killed her?"

"You were practically shouting it."

"Where's everyone else?" Makoto looks around the room but Asahina was the only one here.

"Investigating the crime scene." Asahina shrugs. "I didn't think that I would be very good at investigating so I volunteered to look over you."

"Oh... Thanks."

Asahina's account gives him pause - what happened to him?

Whatever had happened, he knew one thing for sure - he needed to find this time machine as soon as possible.

* * *

Despite his loud confession, Makoto gets through the class trial without much issue. When its pointed out that he wouldn't have needed to break down his door and the note that Sayaka wrote is revealed, his innocence is established.

When it was time for him to discover the next body with Byakuya, Makoto hesitated. What if he, as Asahina put it, "went psycho" again?

Bracing himself, he enters the girls changing room with Byakuya...

Evidently, his worrying was for nothing. He felt nothing but a disturbing sense of emptiness as he looks at Chihiro's crucified body. Still though, he let out a pretty convincing scream as according to the script.

"AHHHHHH! Chihiro!" Being forced to fake his emotions several times in a row did a pretty good job of improving his acting skills. There was once a time where Makoto couldn't tell a single lie. It was pretty surprising to think that this was the same Makoto.

"Most unusual, don't you think...?" Byakuya states calmly.

"Look. Chihiro's corpse has been suspended somehow. And something's been written on the wall, in blood... "Bloodlust? Such a brutal way to kill someone... No, this is beyond brutal. Wouldn't you agree?"

"She was killed! How could it NOT be brutal?"

"No, that's not my point. This murder is far too bizarre for any everyday amateur to have committed it. Unlike with Sayaka, this murder was not a crime of passion or necessity. It's almost as if whoever did this...did it for fun. You see what I mean, don't you?"

_Yes Byakuya, you did this for fun. You tampered with Chihiro's body because you were 'bored and wanting to make this game more 'interesting'. _Makoto thinks to himself disdainfully.

Afterwards, Makoto went through the ropes again. He goes through being bossed around by Byakuya and then solves it all in the case trial. Again.

The rest of the trials go off without a hitch as well. Makoto waits patiently through it all, not breaking his act once.

* * *

_*BANG!*_

Makoto sits in his desk, staring straight forward as a Monokuma lectures him. He slowly moves backward as the incredibly large compactor bangs on the floor.

_*BANG!*_

It was nearly time.

_*BANG!*_

Makoto's desk finally comes underneath the compactor. Like last time, it stalls.

Then...

Chihiro's face - Alter Ego appears on a screen, replacing a mocking face of Monokuma. The compactor doesn't fall - instead, his desk just falls backwards as he goes into the trash chute.

...

...

...

_*BANG!*_

Makoto, along with the desk he had been sitting in, falls into the garbage dump. Since Makoto had been bracing himself, he managed to keep consciousness after the fall. It still hurt quite a bit though.

"Ah... that smarts..." Makoto groans as he pries himself out of the desk.

All there was to do now was wait. Makoto had prepared though. Before the trial, he sent a couple bottles of water and some food along with a book down the trash chute. This would make the wait a little less painful.

Makoto sighs as he looks up. He had fallen quite a large distance. It was really a miracle that he hadn't broken his bones or fractured anything.

Now that he had a bunch of time on his hands, he rethinks things one more time.

In order to get to this point, he had to sacrifice Sayaka, Mukuro, Leon, Chihiro, Mondo, Ishimaru, Yamada, Celeste, and Sakura. Well over half of his friends, of his class, dead.

Now that he thinks about it, sadness echoes throughout his heart. He had known them for years, gotten to know them and everything. Luckily though, this wouldn't be permanent. For their sakes, Makoto will find the time machine.

And he will escape from this damn loop.

* * *

_***CRUNCH***_

Finally, Kyoko had jumped down the trash chute to save him. Makoto runs over to the giant mound of garbage.

"I wonder if there's something still edible here..." Makoto says to the garbage pile.

"I suppose that I'm edible but I wouldn't recommend trying it." A familiar stoic voice comes from the pile as something rises from the trash.

"Oh! Kyoko!"

"This place smells awful." Kyoko stands up and looks over at Makoto.

"You look like you're doing better than I expected..."

"Wh-What are you doing here?!" Makoto asks. He puts on a serious face, but in his mind, he's actually holding back a smile. Just like last time, Kyoko had an empty cup of noodles on her head. Funny how some small things lined up like that.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to help you."

"R-Really?" Makoto gives her a hopeful smile.

"Here. I imagine that you're hungry." Kyoko hands him a red bean bun as well as a bottle of water.

"Oh! Thanks a lot, Kyoko!" Makoto greedily shoves the bun and gulps down the water. He wasn't actually that hungry, but keeping up the act would save him from suspicion.

"Ah, now I have the energy to keep on going!" Makoto rubs his stomach, satisfied.

"So you still haven't given up, then." Kyoko says with a soft smile.

"Of course not! After all, the fact that I can keep going forward is about all I'm good at..."

"Well, that's not such a bad thing to be good at."

"But Kyoko... Why'd you come to rescue me?"

"To pay a debt. During the trial, you knew that I was lying but you didn't say anything."

"Ah, so you knew that I knew."

"Even though I knew, I still didn't say anything to help you. I abandoned you."

Makoto shakes his head. "But you came down here to save me! You didn't abandon me."

Kyoko narrows her eyes. "No, I did abandon you. I abandoned you in order to save my own life. You were trying to save me, and I couldn't bring myself to do the same for you. Listen, I'm not trying to make excuses but there was a reason why I had to live."

"The reason you had to live?"

"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything... The reason I have to survive..."

...

_I already know all of it. But I guess I still have to keep up this act for a small while longer._

...

* * *

"Looks like this is it."

After an excruciatingly long and boring conversation, doubled with that exhausting ladder climb, they had finally reached the top.

"On the other side, Hope's Peak is waiting for us."

"I guess this connects to the hatch near the trash room, huh?"

Kyoko nods. "Exactly. We should be able to open it without much trouble.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Makoto reaches his right hand up and pushed against the hatch.

_*Creak*_

The hatch opened with ease.

"Well, we're back. Finally." Makoto sighs and stretches his arms.

"But I can't believe how long that ladder was. I'm exhausted..." Kyoko says, copying his movements.

"So...now what do we do? I'm glad I didn't die, of course, but if the mastermind finds out... And I'm worried about you, too. You helped me, so they might..."

"Well let's just ask the mastermind himself, shall we?"

"W-What?!"

"With the security cameras and what-not, we won't be able to hide for long."

"I suppose that's true..."

"Don't worry. What you think will happen won't."

Makoto almost bursts out laughing as he hears this. No, everything will happen exactly the way he thinks it will. He remembers what happens almost perfectly.

"The mastermind is the one ensnared here."

"You said that before... What does that mean?"

"The mastermind stood exposed during the investigation into Mukuro's death. There was a moment where the mastermind let their guard down" Kyoko explains. "If we can talk to Monokuma, we can confirm it. And it'll be better for us if we go to him directly before he tracks us down."

_What an incredibly high stakes plan... Not like I'm one to criticize though. If this goes wrong, then everyone might stay dead._

"Monokuma should be in the gym. Let's get going."

Right. It was time for the last hurdle. And then, finally, Makoto can solve this issue. He would, at last, save everyone.

And it would stay that way, forever.


	26. Act 2, Chapter 8

"Ahh, this is a school announcement. You've all probably figured this out by now, but at this point, the killing game has now entered "True Ending" mode. So in the name of fairness, I will unlock every room in the school! Look wherever you want! Solve the mystery in whatever way you see fit! Puhuhu... Then we can all meet up at the class trial, okay? Puhuhuhuhuhu!"

At this, Makoto lets out a sigh of relief. He was finally here.

Well, almost. Makoto still wanted Kyoko as an ally. She was the Ultimate Detective after all. It would certainly help things along. The hard part is going to be telling her about how he deceived her, along with everyone else.

"Well, I'd better get going. I have an endless list of things that I need to check." Kyoko and Makoto were the only two people in thr cafeteria. Everyone else was off doing their own investigations.

"... What if I told you that I already know the secrets of this school?" Makoto asks cautiously.

This was it. The moment of truth. If he manages to get Kyoko on his side, then getting information on the time machine will get a lot easier.

"What?" Kyoko narrows her eyes.

"I'm from the future. I've been through all of this already."

"..."

"Mukuro Ikusaba was Junko Enoshima. She was posing as her in the beginning, and was originally meant to just be taken out of the game. On a whim, Junko, the real mastermind, killed her instead. She saved the body and then re-used it for this case."

"..."

"You weren't the only one with amnesia. All of us had it too - it's just that you had a worse case of it. 2 years of our memories were erased - memories of the outside world and our time together as classmates. When we experienced going through the gates to enter Hops's Peak to thrn only suffer a fainting spell was the cut off for the memory erasure. What we forgot was that we all locked ourselves into this school voluntarily. That's because-"

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Kyoko asks quietly.

"So that you won't have to investigate about the school."

"For this entire Killing Game, you knew everything that was going to happen? But you didn't stop anything. You let those people die? Why?" Kyoko's tone wasn't accusatory or angry. She just simply wanted to know why.

"... I'm stuck in a time loop. Junko trapped me in one so that I could feel Despair. This situation was the only one where we would get limitless access to investigate the entire school. That's why..."

Makoto takes a deep breath.

"Kyoko, will you help me investigate the time machine? I want... No, I need to escape this time loop. Otherwise, I would have to go through all of this again and again..."

...

"Tell me everything."

* * *

15 minutes later, Makoto tells her everything. In order to save time, he only summarized what happened during each of his loops. Kyoko stayed silent throughout his entire explanation, only muttering to herself and shaking her head.

"So after Junko kicked the floorboard, I was sent back in time again. That's this time. You already know everything that happened this time around, right?"

"..." Instead of responding, Kyoko turns around and walks away quickly.

"Wha- Hey!" Makoto scrambles to catch up with her. "Where are you going?"

"To investigate this supposed time machine. Stick to the original plan of splitting up. I'll tell you what I find later." Kyoko brushes Makoto off.

"You're really going to help? Kyoko... Thank you!" Makoto gives her a shining smile.

Kyoko simply nods and continues walking on her own.

"It's time... I can finally investigate this time machine..."

"Oh! So THAT'S what you two were talking about for so long, eh?"

Makoto freezes up as he hears Momokuma's voice come from behind him.

"... N-No, stop."

It took so long to get here. He had to watch his friends die again.

_Don't do this._

"Oh, come now. Why don't you turn around so that you can see my cute little face?"

Slowly, Makoto turns around to face Monokuma.

His right paw was reached torwards Makoto. All of his claws were extended, save for one. This one missing claw was replaced with a singular red lever.

"Wanna pull my finger?" Monokuma asks teasingly.

"STOP!"

"Oh, that's too bad. I'll do it myself then!" Monokuma says, moving his left paw over to his right.

At the same time, Makoto desperately leaps to Monokuma. What he planned to do, not even he knew. There were probably hundreds of these things. Even if he managed to incapacitate one, another pops up. But still, he couldn't just stand there and watch.

"Sayonara!" Before Makoto reaches him, he pulls the finger.

"NOOOOOO!"

...

_*pffffft*_

A loud farting noise comes from Monokuma.

"Ah, the oldest joke in the book, huh Makoto? But still pretty hilarious!"

"..."

"Oh yeah, I should probably send you back in time too." Monokuma brings a remote out from his back and presses it before Makoto could even react.

"Ok, sayonara for real this time!"

* * *

**The 9th Killing Game.**

...

...

...

"Fuck."

* * *

"Hey Kyoko, I know you said that we should split up, but I want to check something in that hidden room in the boys bathroom."

There was nothing to check in the boys bathroom, obviously. It's just that there aren't any cameras in there. Makoto couldn't believe that he forgot that Monokuma could hear everything he said.

"..."

"Can you... uh, go there with me?"

"... Ok." Kyoko nods and motions for him to lead the way.

_Phew... Glad she got the hint._

"Ooooh!" Again, Monokuma appears out of nowhere. "Makoto and Kyoko going to the bathroom together? You guys shouldn't be wasting time playing around like that, ya know!"

"Get out of here, Monokuma." Makoto glares at the monochrome bear.

"Can I spectate? I promise I won't interfere!"

"..."

"..."

"Fine, fine... I can take a hint..." Monokuma slinks away, clearly disappointed.

"Jeez... What's his problem?"

"Let's go already. We have limited time on the investigation you know."

Makoto nods. "Right. Let's go."

* * *

"So this is the second time explaining things to me?" Kyoko stares at him with a slight sense of pity.

"Well, technically I've explained this stuff to you more then that. But yeah, second time in this situation... and I gotta say, I'm _really _tired of doing this."

"Makoto... What do you plan to do once we find this time machine?"

"Once I get enough info, I'm going to loop one more time. Then, I'll save everyone and at the end, destroy the time machine so that things won't be reversed."

Kyoko shakes her head. "Don't destroy it. If you do, who knows what might happen? Just find a way to close off your time loop."

"B-But..." Makoto gulps nervously. "How would I find out how to use it? I mean, it's an actual time machine!"

"Figure it out. You apparently have all of eternity to try, don't you?"

"It's not that simple..." Makoto sighs.

_I would probably go crazy from boredom before I figure out how a time machine works..._

"No, I suppose it wouldn't be." Kyoko says. "Since you've told me everything about the school, I guess I can repay the favor by helping you with your investigation."

"Thanks, Kyoko."

Kyoko nods and walks out of the bathroom, muttering under her breath. "Time machines..."

"Alright. There shouldn't be any problems now. I'm going to get out of this time loop" Makoto says, psyching himself up.

_Hopefully I won't have to do this again..._

* * *

_"The beginning of the end of the class trial! Everyone gather once again at you know where! Puhuhuhuhu!"_

Monokuma's announcement signals the end of the investigation point. While Asahina, Hagakure, Toko, and Byakuya were investigating the secrets of this school, Kyoko and Makoto investigated the time machine.

With Makoto getting a couple of hours to look throughout the entire school, and the Ultimate Detective helping him out, they find...

One clue.

Only one clue showed up.

Makoto and Kyoko were the two first ones to arrive at the elevator room.

"Man... I found absolutely nothing..." Makoto groans.

"... I found one thing. I checked that floorboard you told me about and found a singular wire connected to a button. It can probably be assumed that the wire leads to the time machine."

"Really?! Did you see it?!"

"I said it can only be _assumed_. The space in-between the floorboards are much to small for anyone to navigate through.

"Dang... That isn't enough... I'm going to have to redo all of this, huh?"

"Well-"

At that moment, Byakuya enters the elevator room. He trains icy glares at both Kyoko and Makoto as he moves to a corner.

"Everyone's gonna act like that... Monokuma's photos made them think that we're all traitors or something." Makoto whispers to Kyoko.

One by one, the other students come into the elevator room. Sure enough, they all acted distant and paranoid, giving each other glares and avoiding conversation.

When Makoto first experienced this, he felt nervous. Well, nervous was an understatement. It felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest. His anxiety was through the roof.

Now though... Nothing. His chest felt completely empty. Why wouldn't it? None of this mattered anyway. As soon as it was over, Makoto would have to restart everything.

Then, he would have to see all of his classmates die again.

Then, he would have to go through each and every class trial again.

Then, he would have to explain everything to Kyoko again.

Then, he would have to investigate the school again.

And there was not a single guarantee that he would even find anything on the next attempt.

* * *

...

"You're all the mastermind, aren't you!? You're all out to get me! I'm right, aren't I!? I knew it!" Hagakure points at everyone frantically.

...

* * *

...

"It's the same for everyone else. You don't remember choosing to live here forever. Or even talking to the headmaster about it at all." Kyoko states in a matter of fact manner.

...

* * *

...

"Despite the time she spent in battle after battle as a member of Fenrir...when she entered this school, she hadn't sustained a single injury!" Makoto contradicts Toko's statement.

...

* * *

...

"Officially, ten murders have been committed so far. But one of the victims may have been murdered...and then murdered again." Makoto explains to everyone.

...

* * *

...

"So she killed Mukuro, who had taken her place, making it look like she'd died. And the real Junko... is still alive." Byakuya summarizes.

...

* * *

...

"That's right! You've already spent two full years here at Hope's Peak Academy! And that entire period of time... is precisely what you've forgotten!" Junko laughs maniacally.

...

* * *

_..._

"Puhuhu... It's laughable, really. He was the headmaster, but he had no idea. He had no idea that we, the Ultimate Despair had already made our way into the school. So what was supposed to be a shelter to keep you safe...became a cage that made it impossible for you to escape despair."

_..._

* * *

Again, Makoto brings his classmates out of Despair. He does his heartfelt speech and encourages everyone. This was a climatic moment, one that inspired hope to everyone.

Everyone except for Makoto himself, that is.

* * *

The conveyor belt halts to a sudden stop.

The incredibly large compactor stalls.

Below said large compactor, Junko Enoshima was hugging a Monokuma robot while waving to the other surviving students. She was the mastermind - the genius teenager behind the Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy. The Ultimate Despair, Ultimate Fashionista, and the Ultimate Analyst.

Kyoko Kirigiri, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Toko Fukawa, Aol Asahina, Byakuya Togami...

Even Junko Enoshima herself, in her battered state was kept in suspense.

Would the _'After School Lesson' _fail again? Makoto had already escaped from the execution once before. It wasn't impossible to think that it Junko could escape either.

...

_*BANG!*_

The resounding smack as Junko Enoshima was reduced to nothing more then a red splatter answered them.

Nope. Junko was dead, this time for good.

All that remained was a handheld remote with a large red button - presumably the remote to open the front door.

The Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy was over. Again.

Makoto walks up to the remote and puts his finger over it.

"Hey Makoto, shouldn't we wait until we're in front of the door to press it?" Asahina stares at Makoto strangely.

"Nope. See you guys later... God, that trial was boring. I hope that I won't have to do this _again_."

"Again?"

Makoto presses the button.

* * *

_"__You apparently have all of eternity to try, don't you?"_

* * *

**The 10th Killing Game**

Pain.

Makoto wakes up with a headache.

In a familiar classroom.

_Here we go again._


	27. Act 2, Chapter 9

Once again, Makoto searches the entire school with Kyoko. He tells her about the parts he had already explored in order to save time. They scour through the entire school - every floor, every room.

"... Oh! What's this?" Makoto finds a wire attached to a button hidden behind the incinerator. It was pretty much like what Kyoko described.

"Is this... another trigger?" Makoto hands shy away from the button as this thought crosses his mind. It most likely was.

"Kyoko said that this might follow to the time machine..." Makoto's eyes slowly travel up the wire.

It lead to a small hole on the wall. It was about 2 inches in diameter.

Glancing in, Makoto sees that the hole was extremely long - he couldn't even see the end of it. There was no way that he could follow this wire.

"Damn..." Makoto grumbles and moves away from the incinerator. Well, this wasn't going to lead anywhere.

_I'll just look somewhere else..._

* * *

_"The beginning of the end of the class trial! Everyone gather once again at you know where! Puhuhuhuhu!"_

Monokuma's announcement signals the end of the investigation point. While Asahina, Hagakure, Toko, and Byakuya were investigating the secrets of this school, Kyoko and Makoto investigated the time machine again.

Just like last time, only one clue showed up. Though it was actually Makoto who found it this time.

"I found another trigger... Just like the other one, it's a button that's connected to a wire. And just like the other one, I'm unable to follow the wire..."

"To be honest, I haven't found anything." Kyoko bites her lips in disappointment.

"H-Huh?"

"I've gathered every single file in this school together and skimmed through all of it. There was not a single mention of a time machine in any of them." The detective sighs and rubs her eyes. "There were so many of them..."

"Wow, Kyoko... You managed to go through _all_ of them within a few hours?" Makoto gapes at her in surprise. "Even if you didn't find anything... That's really impressive."

Kyoko rolls her eyes. "I told you, I only had enough time to skim it."

"Even so!"

"By the way, Makoto... There is one possible solution."

Instantly, Makoto perks up. "What is it? Tell me." Makoto says desperately.

"Even if it is extremely risky, if there's no other choice... Destroying the time machine _might _break you out of this time loop."

Makoto pauses. He brought this up to Kyoko in a previous time loop but she had instantly denied it. "But the problem would be finding the time machine, wouldn't it?"

"That's the thing - there's no guarantee you can find the time machine. That's why destroying is a risky backup plan."

Huh?

"I don't get it... How will I destroy the time machine if I can't find it?"

"Well, you have the wires, don't you? It still connects to the time machine. Say, you find a way to overload the circuits..."

Realization dawns upon Makoto. If he were to cause an electrical surge to overload the time machine, it could probably do enough damage to destroy it. **(Note: Probably not scientifically accurate, but it's a story about a time machine so suck it up.)**

"Again, this is only going to be a last resort plan. You should try to continue searching the school for it."

"Right, but there might not be any cl-"

Makoto is interrupted as Byakuya walks in. It's about time to do the last class trial.

For everyone else, it was a climatic end to the hellish Killing Game that plagued their lives for the past few weeks. The final trial of life and death.

To Makoto, it was just an unskippable cutscene that he's seen several times before.

As they are joined by the rest, Makoto fidgets impatiently.

_Gotta do this again... Damn._

* * *

Makoto goes through the class trial once again.

_Blah blah, Junko's the mastermind, Mukuro was her fake, blah blah inspire hope... _Makoto thinks to himself on the inside.

He feels quite empty inside, but on the outside, he gives passionate arguments and inspires hope to the rest of his friends. Faking _everything _several times had done wonders for his ability to fake his emotions. In fact, his mask probably rivals Celeste at this point.

As soon as it's all done and over with, Makoto watches Junko get crushed again. Deep down, he feels the slightest bit of satisfaction.

_Serves her ri- _

Makoto doesn't let himself finish that thought.

He can't advocate for her death. She's still a human being with emotions. Killing her _can't _bring him any sort of joy. He won't allow it, or else his humanity might slip even further down this hole.

Makoto walks over and presses the button again.

* * *

**The 11th Killing Game**

Makoto finds nothing. Kyoko finds nothing.

For once, they both find absolutely nothing.

A sense of dread settles on Makoto's soul.

_Oh god please no._

* * *

Makoto didn't know it. While he labored, he thought that he was working for Hope.

Makoto didn't know it. In his mind, he thought that he was fighting for his friends.

He didn't know it, but while he time traveled again and again, Hope diminished from his heart.

Makoto lied to himself anyway, claiming that he was still fighting for Hope.

And he was convinced - all of this had made him really good at lying after all.

* * *

**The 27th Killing Game**

Makoto decides to interrogate Junko himself. After checking literally everything in this school, he concludes that the time machine wasn't there. The only traces that remained were several triggers that forced Makoto to travel through time.

On the bright side, he can activate these triggers himself. Once he finishes the investigations, he can just time travel back and skip the entire trial.

"We have been waiting! Waiting so very long for peasants like you to appear! If you swear your fealty to us, we will reward you with half of the entire worl-"

As soon as Junko makes her "grand reveal" as the mastermind, Makoto tackles her to the ground and quickly and tightly binds her hands with three pairs of rope.

"Ow ow ow! What the heck?!"

"M-Makoto?!" Asahina blinks as he witnesses Makoto tackle her to the ground.

"What the hell's wrong with you? Get off of..." Junko stops as soon as he see's a kitchen knife held up to her throat.

Makoto had snuck it on to the elevator before hand, along with the rope.

Still holding the knife up to her throat, Makoto snatches her hair clips away and cuts off the tip of her shoes (Makoto had found out that they were also triggers for the time machine.)

"Naegs! Nice going dude! You totally captured the mastermind!" Hagakure gives him a thumbs up.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Byakuya closes his eyes and rubs his temples.

"W-W-What just happened?" Toko looks around the courtroom frantically as she tries to process what just happened.

"Time machine. Tell me where it is. Now." Makoto presses the knife up against her chin snugly.

"Oh! That's what this is all about, huh? If _you_ of all people are resorting to violence, you must be super desperate! Puhuhuhuhu!" Junko lets out a cackle.

Makoto's left eye twitches. "Tell me."

"Gladly! The time machine is located six kilometers underground!"

Makoto almost drops the knife in shock. "W-What?!"

"Hey now... What's this about a time machine?" Byakuya glances curiously at Makoto.

"Don't interrupt us." Makoto says without turning to face him.

"Why you-"

"H-How dare you talk to M-Master Byakuya like that?!"

"That's a lie, isn't it?!" Makoto's breathing gets ragged as he starts to panic. "Tell me where it is!"

"It's six kilometers underground, I just told you! I built it in a crazy deep pit I dug up and then caved it in! Good thing that time machine was so durable. In fact, here's how to turn off the time machine - all you gotta do is push the two blue buttons at the same time and then insert the key. The key is still inside of the time machine, by the way."

Junko gives him a smirk. "Well? Satisfied?"

"You... YOU..." Makoto's arm trembles in rage, causing shallow cuts to appear on her neck as the knife grazes her.

"Makoto..." Kyoko's says in a warning tone.

For the first time in his life, Makoto felt pure hatred. He hated this person in front of him. He hated Junko Enoshima.

It was extremely tempting to just push the knife forwards and slit her throat. He could imagine it - her hot blood flowing down her fingers as she gasps in pain. The life leaving her eyes. It would be _soooooooo _satisfying.

But as he looks into Junko's eyes, he sees greed. Then he realizes - that would be what Junko wants.

She _wants _him to kill her. It would be even more satisfying for her then it would be for him.

Knowing this, Makoto just sighs and takes the knife away from her throat.

"Oh? Not gonna cut me into bits?"

"Ah! B-Blood!" Toko promptly passes out and falls onto the floor as she sees the shallow cuts on Junko's neck.

Makoto ignores both of them and pushes into Junko's hair clip.

"... See you." Makoto says tonelessly.


	28. Act 2, Chapter 10

**The 30th Killing Game**

30 times.

30 times Makoto had gone through this _annoyingly long _Killing Game.

Sure, small details change here and there. But other then that, everything changed the same based on his major decisions.

If he goes through it as normal, the same people die in the same order. The trials happen in the same way and the final case is finished in the same way. Then, he travels back in time again.

If he saves everyone, then Junko is knocked up and tied up by Mukuro after her last motive fails. Then, he travels back in time again.

_Enough... I need to get out of here... I can't take this shit anymore._

* * *

Junko slams her boot down onto the floor as hard as possible. Surprisingly, (or not surprisingly) enough, the floorboard shifts downwards and a clicking noise is heard.

Just before Makoto time traveled, he did his best to memorize which floorboard shifted downwards. He had seen this before but he didn't pay much attention to it at the time.

There was only a couple of seconds in which he could try to memorize it, but he was pretty sure he knew which one it was. At the very least, he knew that the floorboard was somewhere near the middle of the gym.

Time for Plan B.

Makoto contacts Kyoko - again, and tells her about everything, including the previous time loop. Of course, she's skeptical. So like usual, Makoto gives her a couple of predictions in order to gain her trust. Then, he did everything over again. Despite going through the acts of saving his friends, Makoto felt bored. Who could blame him? He had done this several times already after all.

But he does it again.

He talks Sayaka and Celeste out of their murders.

He pushes Mukuro out of the way.

He prevents Mondo from flying off the handle.

He acts grateful to his friends when they stick by him as Monokuma lies about him being the traitor. Though maybe act wasn't the right word? He wasn't ungrateful or anything. It was just hard to appreciate it as much as he used to since he's seen it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

And now, once again, they find that in the morning, Junko is tied up, lying on the floor, and for the time being, unconscious. That wouldn't last very long though. Makoto needed to act fast.

"Kyoko, are you ready?"

Kyoko and Makoto had come up with this plan a while ago. They both agreed that this might be his only chance at destroying the time loop machine - Junko was crazy enough about Despair that she wouldn't free Makoto from this time loop herself. On top of that, even if he were to torture her or something for information on the time machine, she might actually take pleasure in it and still refuse to tell him anything. Given that there's an unknown amount of triggers for the time machine, he might meet a softlock midway through his investigation if he were to take that route.

Kyoko nods and brings out two tools - a taser and a crowbar. She had borrowed these things from Mukuro.

It was an incredibly simple plan, but one that might work.

"I think that you should rethink things, Makoto. Destroying the time machine like this is incredibly risky. It should only be a last resort." Kyoko had only reluctantly went along with his plan - protesting that this was needlessly dangerous. Who knew what would happen if he destroyed it? It may even cause a time paradox.

"... Kyoko, I'm beginning to lose my mind." Makoto whispers quietly. "If I keep meeting failures, I might really fall into Despair."

Makoto shivers as he flashes back to the first hints of Despair.

_There was so much. It clotted on his hands, creating horrible disfigured gloves. Pieces of it flaked off as he clenched and unclenched his fists in horror._

_He was still screaming._

Nothing as insane as that has happened since then, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he truly lost his mind.

"But still-"

"Besides, the time machine is literally buried six kilometers underground." Makoto glances at her, a brow raised. "You don't happen to have any explosives, do you? Perhaps a bunch of drills and pickaxes?"

"... No." Kyoko hesitantly drops the subject.

Makoto grabs the crowbar from her hands and pries open the floorboard. He gets the right one on the first try.

Then, using his fingernails, he peels open the skin of the wires exposing metal.

"Hand me the taser."

He feels a gloved hand palm the taser onto his. "I predict that there would be 3 possible outcomes to this. One, destroying this time machine causes some sort of paradox. Two, it malfunctions and you're trapped in this time loop forever. Three, it stops working. The third option seems like the most likely in my opinion, but I obviously don't know how a time machine would work."

"It's a gamble. I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, right?"

"Don't you always talk about how you get bad luck more often then good?"

"..." Makoto doesn't respond, instead adjusting the settings on the taser. He had set it to max power - probably enough power to overload any sort of electrical machine.

Taking a deep breath, Makoto puts the wire in between the space of the taser. Once he activates it, the wire will be directly in the path of an extremely strong electrical current. And once he does this, there will be no turning back.

_Ultimate Luck, huh? Don't fail me now._

"... Oh, Makoto! Kyoko too... What 'cha doing?" The annoyingly cheery voice of Junko echoes throughout the gym as she wakes up.

Crap. Makoto hadn't expected her to wake up this early.

_NOW!_

Makoto activates the taser.

* * *

***A/N* The poll I had put on my profile had these results -**

**Bad Ending - 11 votes (68%)**

**Good Ending - 5 votes (31%)**

**So, I will write and flesh out the bad ending first. As I said, it will be quite a bit longer then the good ending.**

**The bad ending will have a Despair Naegi first. Then he will slowly transition to what I would like to call the "Izuru" Naegi as he gets super bored of everything.**

**The good ending will be short and to the point. Just Hopeful Naegi as he starts to feel stuff again and saves his friends.**


	29. Act 3, Chapter 1

_"Puhuhuhu... Despair wins out in the end? That's real great."_

_"..."_

_"What will you do now that you have an answer?"_

_"..."_

_"Oh, the silent treatment? That's not nice, you know."_

_"Despair is stronger then Hope and Hope is weaker then Despair... But it does not matter."_

_"Huh?"_

_"They are both boring. They are both too predictable."_

_"But..."_

_"You have done enough to show me what Despair looks like. This is what I've decided. Farewell, Junko."_

* * *

_Act Three  
_

_The Curse of Immortality  
_

_"__Time passes the same, regardless of what I am doing." _

_\- Izuru Kamukura  
_

* * *

_Cold._

_So cold._

As soon as Makoto turns on the taser, darkness completely overtakes his vision as a disturbing feeling fills his body.

_Why is everything so cold?_

_Where am I?_

The dark was suffocating. He couldn't even tell if he was closing his eyes or not.

_Am I dead? Is this what awaits us in the afterlife?_

Makoto is freezing. But there wasn't anything he could really do about it. He was floating - floating in empty space.

Hey, there's an interesting thought. Maybe he was in space for some reason.

_Dark._

_Everything._

_...  
_

_It feels so bad._

_..._

_I want to die._

* * *

**The 31st Killing Game.**

Makoto wakes up on a desk. On it, a cheaply made pamphlet was on it. The room that this desk was in has secure bolted windows and a camera. Around him, several more desks are there, though those are empty.

For a second, Makoto just looks around, bewildered.

Then, he promptly vomits on the floor next to him.

Everything was spinning - What the hell was that void he had experienced? It felt like he was in there for hours...

An extreme sense of nausea had replaced his usual headache - why though?

Makoto, panting for air, takes one more look around. Sure enough, it was the classroom he had woken up in for the past thirty or so time loops. Steadying his trembling hand, he picks up the pamphlet and looks at it.

_"The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."_

"I'm back..." Makoto mutters to himself.

Panic starts to whell up inside of Makoto's heart. Did the time machine malfunction? Was he truly stuck here forever? Did his gamble fail?

_No. It's too early to assume that. Calm down. CALM DOWN._

Makoto starts slowly walking to the main hall while trying to calm his nerves.

_Maybe there won't be any time loops this time. Maybe we will be able to go outside. Yeah, that's what will happen. I'm saving my friends for the last time. Then, we all leave together._

Gathering up the rest of his courage, Makoto moves forwards to meet his classmates for the 'first' time.

* * *

"Let's put it to a vote, then." Mukuro, who had been staying silent ever since Junko woke up, suddenly speaks up.

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and STAY inside of this building?"

"..."

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and go back into the outside world?"

11 hands shoot up right away - Makoto, Kyoko, Chihiro, Mondo, Ishimaru, Yamada, Sakura, Asahina, Sayaka, Leon, and Hagakure.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDD-"

"Is there anyone here who would like to kill Junko and then go back to the outside world?

After a small delay, 3 hands go up - Byakuya, Celeste, and Toko.

"... Fine. I would like to see nothing more then for Junko to pay for her crimes. I suppose it doesn't matter if she lives or dies." Byakuya recluclantly concedes.

"How nice. I share the same exact sentiment." Celeste giggles softly.

"I-I'm just voting for whatever Master Byakuya votes for..."

"You guys made your choice, huh? I have to admit, I'm happy that my sister won't be a casualty... Even if she betrayed me, I still love her. I'll make my way down there." With that, Monokuma shuts down, falling limply onto the floor."

"Oh yeah!" Chihiro suddenly gasps. "I forgot to mention that Alter Ego finished with the files... But I guess that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"We should analyze them later anyway." Mondo responds.

Kyoko gives a small smile. "Then it's time. Let's face the outside world once again."

"NO NO NO!" Junko thrashes around, biting at her binds. "My beautiful despair! I won't even taste the despair of death?!"

Sakura sighs, picking up Junko in one arm. "You will atone for your sins, Junko Enoshima."

He does it all again.

Everything the exact same. Sayaka, Leon, Chihiro, Mondo, Celeste, Yamada, Ishimaru, Sakura, Mukuro... For the umpteenth time, Makoto aaves them all from dying horrible deaths.

For the first time in a while, Makoto held true Hope within his heart. This was the last time he would be doing this. The time machine would have HAD to worked. He wasn't trapped in a time loop - he was free.

Makoto held on to the Hope that this was true. It was all he had.

Once again, Makoto stands in front of the locked door, remote in hand. Surrounding him are all of his friends. This was the final test - would he finally be free from this nightmare?

Steps echo behind Makoto and the other students.

"Oh, Mukuro! Are you ready to go?" Makoto asks expectantly.

Blushing slightly, Mukuro nods.

"Oh my FUCKING god, sis. Will you just ask him out already? Aren't soldier supposed to be BRAVE?" Junko snickers, still being held by Sakura.

"J-Junko!"

Makoto pats Mukuro on the shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly. "Just ignore her, Mukuro."

"R-Right..."

"Well... Does anyone have any objections? This is your last chance." Kyoko clears her throat and scans the small crowd.

"I still think that you guys should take revenge on me."

Other then Junko's scalding comment, no one else raises any objections.

"Very well."

Makoto grits his teeth as he holds up the remote.

I stopped Sayaka from trying to kill Leon...

Again.

I pushed Mukuro out of the way of the spears...

Again.

I kept Mondo's temper in check...

Again.

I managed to put a stop to Celeste's plans...

Again.

Sakura didn't try to commit suicide...

Again.

It was finally done. No one had died.

Again, and hopefully, for the last time. Makoto was absoloutely sick of that word.

'Again.'

"It's time." Kyoko nods at Makoto. "Will you do the honors?"

"Yeah..." Makoto suddenly shifts his eyes to meet Junko's.

She was grinning sadistically at Makoto. Her grin only widened when she sees Makoto looking at her.

Taking a deep breath, Makoto presses the button.

...

...

...

The door opened.

Bright lights came in from the outside world.

"Oh... OH..." Makoto starts shivering, accidently dropping the remote in the process. Was he really free? Was this it?!

"I didn't go back in time..." Makoto pinches himself in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the other students are gaping at the scene in front of them - sure enough, the world had gone to shit. Buildings were destroyed, street fights raged on, helicopters were in the air, fires spread...

It was terrible.

But Makoto didn't care. He was free. He was free from this hellhole.

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"We are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. Please, come with us. We shall offer you shelter and food."

No one responds. They were still too busy taking in the apparent apocalypse.

Makoto clumsily takes a step forwards. Nothing could describe the extreme sense of bliss that had blossomed inside of him. All of his hard work was finally paying off. He was free from the shackles of time!

"It is 8:59 AM in the morning, yet the sky is so dark!" Ishimaru suddenly reports, staring down at his watch. "Why is it also red?!"

"The sky turned like that when the Tragedy happened, remember bro?" Mondo responds.

"Oh! I suppose you're right. Sorry, my head is still mixed up after getting those memori-"

* * *

**The 32nd Killing Game.**

Pain.

This is what Makoto Naegi is currently feeling. This headache was so bad that Makoto thought that his head was surely being split into two.

_What... What's happening to me?_

The last thing he remembers is standing in the outside world with his friends. Those guys who called themselves Future Foundation where going to rescue them.

Then, as sudden as it came, the headache stopped. All that remained was a subtle feeling of drowsiness.

He had been sitting down on a wooden desk with his head burrowed in his arms.

Slowly and deliberately, Makoto raises his head from his arms.

He was in a familiar room with bolted windows. In the room, there were several desks and a security camera. A small string of drool had been going down the side of his mouth.

...

Makoto screams.

He screams louder then he had ever done before.

The terror he feels is unimaginable.

Hope fleets from his soul.

It's over.


	30. Act 3, Chapter 2

Makoto presses the button.

...

...

...

The door opens.

Bright lights come in from the outside world.

"Please please please please..." Makoto whispers to himself, trembling.

Meanwhile, the other students are gaping at the scene in front of them - sure enough, the world had gone to shit. Buildings were destroyed, street fights raged on, helicopters were in the air, fires spread...

It was terrible.

But Makoto had seen it all before.

"Let me stay here... God, let me stay here..." Makoto's fists clench in suspense.

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"We are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. Please, come with us. We shall offer you shelter and food."

No one responds. They were still too busy taking in the apparent apocalypse.

"It is 8:59 AM in the morning, yet the sky is so dark!" Ishimaru suddenly reports, staring down at his watch. "Why is it also red?!"

At this, something clicks in Makoto's brain.

_8:59 AM? _

"The sky turned like that when the Tragedy happened, remember bro?" Mondo responds.

"Oh! I suppose you're right. Sorry, my head is still mixed up after getting those memori-"

Before Ishimaru finishes his sentence, Makoto time travels again.

* * *

**The 33rd Killing Game.**

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"We are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. Please, come with us. We shall offer you shelter and food."

No one responds. They were still too busy taking in the apparent apocalypse.

"It is 8:59 AM in the morning, yet the sky is so dark!" Ishimaru suddenly reports, staring down at his watch. "Why is it also red?!"

At this, something clicks in Makoto's brain.

_8:59 AM? _

"The sky turned like that when the Tragedy happened, remember bro?" Mondo responds.

"Oh! I suppose you're right. Sorry, my head is still mixed up after getting those memori-"

Before Ishimaru finishes his sentence, Makoto time travels again.

* * *

**The 34th Killing Game.**

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"We are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. Please, come with us. We shall offer you shelter and food."

No one responds. They were still too busy taking in the apparent apocalypse.

"It is 8:59 AM in the morning, yet the sky is so dark!" Ishimaru suddenly reports, staring down at his watch. "Why is it also red?!"

At this, something clicks in Makoto's brain.

_8:59 AM? _

"The sky turned like that when the Tragedy happened, remember bro?" Mondo responds.

"Oh! I suppose you're right. Sorry, my head is still mixed up after getting those memori-"

Before Ishimaru finishes his sentence, Makoto time travels again.

* * *

**The 49th Killing Game.**

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"You guys are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. You want us to come with you. You offer you shelter and food." Makoto says abruptly.

"... Huh? How did you know that I was about to say that?" One of the soldiers back up slightly as he cautiously observes Makoto.

"Puhuhuhuhu..." Junko laughs quietly to herself.

"Ishimaru, you're wondering why the sky is dark and red despite it being 8:59 in the morning, aren't you?"

"What?!" Ishimaru's face quickly pales.

"Did you just read his mind?!" Hagakure stares at Makoto with wonder.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this. I'm just going to be sent back in time again..." Makoto chuckles darkly. "In about 5 seconds."

"Huh?"

* * *

**The 50th Killing Game.**

How tiring.

Makoto was tired of trying. Apparently, this was his fate for all of eternity. He would be stuck in this damn Killing Game until that day a couple of weeks in the future, and as soon as it turns to 9:00 AM, he will get back here.

Makoto had finally accepted it.

Keeping his head down on the desk, Makoto slowly drifts back to unconsciousness.

He needed a break from all of this. This entire time traveling endeavor had taxed his mind heavily.

As the tendrils of sleep overtake his mind, Makoto thinks to himself.

_Is this Despair? I don't feel particularly depressed... I don't feel some sort of weird pleasure as I'm forced to time travel over and over again..._

_It's just all so boring._

_It's like playing a game that's really easy but takes time to complete. Except as soon as you complete it, you're sent back to the beginning and forced to do it all over again._

_I... I don't want to do this anymore._

Makoto falls asleep.

* * *

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then! To all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...Oh yeah, Makoto Naegi, get your butt over here too!"_

The announcement Monokuma makes over the PA system finally wakes Makoto up.

_Fucking hell..._

Makoto's joints pop as he stands up and stretches. "Ugh..."

He was about to walk out of the room, he pauses.

_What if I don't go?_

It would be pretty interesting to see what would happen. Will Monokuma ignore him? Will he be forced to come?

Right now, Makoto was desperate for something interesting to happen. He _needed _for something different to happen.

Empowered by these desires, Makoto sits back down.

And waits.

...

* * *

10 minutes later, a familiar face pops into the room.

It was Mukuro Ikusaba - still posing as the fake Junko. She walks over to the desk Makoto was sitting in and waits there.

...

Makoto ignores her.

...

"Heyyyy, so what the hell are you doing?" Mukuro finally breaks the silence.

"... Does it matter?"

"Duh, it matters! Didn't you hear that announcement? You need to get your ass over to the gym ahoge boy! You're keeping all of us waiting here." Mukuro says, taping her foot impatiently.

"Fine. You lead the way." Makoto rolls his eyes and slowly stands up.

A tinge of worry touches Mukuro's face. Why was Makoto acting like this? Did the memory erasure mess with his mind or something? For the whole time Mukuro's known the luckster, he has been nothing but positive and energetic. He smiled to everyone and always kept a positive attitude. That was what attracted her to him - his undying positivity and bright smile.

But now...

Mukuro peers into his eyes.

...

Devoid of emotion...

Mukuro has seen this look before. It was the look that appeared on the faces of soldiers who had undergone extremely lengthy and excruciating torture. She had spectated several interrogation sessions and even headed some herself.

If you put too much pain and pressure on a person for too long, their mind breaks. They get used to the pain. It's not that they don't feel the pain or anything, it's just that it doesn't actually bother them anymore.

Now... Makoto was acting as if this had happened to him. Uncaring, and with an alarming lack of emotion in his actions.

"Alright then, follow me."

There's no response, but she hears the light footsteps of Makoto as he follows him.

_What happened to you, Makoto?_

* * *

"Oh my god! Finally! What the hell took you so long?!"

The high pitched voice of Monokuma fills the gym as soon as Makoto enters. The bear was sitting on a podium, clearly angry at him for being late.

"Unacceptable! To show such extensive tardiness in a school setting is unacceptable!" Ishimaru roars.

"I'm here now, aren't I? It shouldn't be an issue." Makoto calmly replies.

"Well now that this kid has finally arrived, I can get to why you're all here!" Monokuma hops up, excited to finally start his explanation.

Makoto leans over and whispers to the person nearest to him - Sayaka.

_"Pssst! I bet we're here because that bear wants us to kill each other and escape! He probably also has some sort of system where the killer can only escape if he manages to not get caught. And if he isn't caught, the rest of us are probably executed."_

Sayaka jumps and turns towards him. "What are you talking about?"

"Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony! First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake-you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope..." Monokuma starts.

_"I'm talking about how he wants us to live here forever! And that the only way to escape is to murder." _Makoto responds, still in a whisper.

Sayaka backs up from him, unnerved at the way Makoto was talking. He seemed so _sure _of himself... But what he was talking about is totally insane!

"...You will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school. Oh yeah, regarding the end date for this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all live here until the day you die!"

Sayaka gasps as Monokuma confirms Makoto's words. Does that mean the part about murder is true as well?!

"U-Until the day we die?" Toko asks, mouth gaping.

"Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences." Monokuma says reassuringly.

"Let me guess, if we want to get out of here, you want us to kill each other and get away with it, right?" Makoto suddenly speaks up.

"What the?! Kill each other?! The hell are you on about?" Mondo asks furiously.

"Ooh! This one caught up quick! Though I must say - I don't appreciate you stealing the grand reveal from me."

"Oh yeah, we're cut off from all outside world contact, right?"

"... Puhuhuhuhu..." Monokuma simply giggles.

Makoto continues to list off more details.

"If the murderer survives a class trial, which is a process where we have to find the murderer, then he gets to graduate and everyone else is executed. If the killer is found, then that sole person is executed. Am I right?"

"Puhuhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma puts his paws to his stomach as he bellows in laughter. "Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhu! Makoto's acting like he knows everything that will happen, huh? Hilarious!"

Makoto rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

"Very well!" Monokuma stands up and hands each student their e-books. "I'll just let _Makoto _explain everything to you guys! See you later!"

...

"What the hell was that about?" Leon glares at Makoto.

"Isn't it obvious?" Byakuya sneers. "Makoto is working with the mastermind. He's likely been placed here to watch us and keep tabs."

"I suppose you _would _come to that conclusion."

"HEY!" Mondo snarls and steps in front of Makoto. "If you're really working with that bear thing, you better let us out, ya hear? I ain't murdering no one!"

"Even if I said that I wasn't working with Monokuma, you wouldn't even believe me."

"You could try to explain how you knew those things." Kyoko offers.

Makoto appears to think about this before deadpanning: "Nah. Not worth the effort. Can you get out of my way, Mondo?"

"Why you..." Veins pop out of Mondo's head. "You're asking for a serious punch to the face, you know that?"

_Interesting... So now Mondo's going to focus on me instead of Byakuya, huh?_

"The t-teddy bear said that you would explain what's going on..." Chihiro says hopefully.

"Don't feel like it."

"You know what?! FUCK YOU!" Mondo roars, swinging his arm at Makoto.

"..." Makoto immediately shifts his head approximately 2 inches to the right. Mondo's fist just barely misses his ear.

As Mondo misses his punch, he stumbles forwards a bit, cursing. "Son of a-"

Makoto leans forwards slightly to look at Mondo in the eye.

"Want to try again?" He asks with a perfectly straight face.

"You fucking BITCH!" Mondo brings his arm back to try and swing one more time but Sakura moves up from behind him and restrains him.

"Calm down. This is no time for infighting. For now, let's discuss the rules in the student e-handbook."

"What rules?!"

"There are several listed on the e-handbook."

"Yeah, you should probably read those." Makoto smiles softly. "Monokuma executes anyone who breaks em."

Mondo quickly pales. "You gotta be fucking kidding."

"Want to find out if I am?"

"... Peh." Mondo scoffs and backs up from Makoto. "You're a creepy ass kid."

Makoto's eyes widen slightly. "You can blame Junko Enoshima for that."

"H-Huh?" Mukuro backs up and points at herself. "M-Me?"

"No, I said Junko Enoshima. Not you."

"What the hell are you talking about now?" Leon glances at Mukuro. "She's Junko Enoshima."

"If you say so..." Makoto says before he exits the gym.

An idea suddenly formulates in his head.

_I wonder what would happen when someone actually wins this game...?_

* * *

***A/N* I've been finding Despair Naegi to be pretty hard to write, so I've decided to just skip to the bored Naegi. Hopefully no one minds too much.**


	31. Act 3, Chapter 3

The night after Monokuma shows off his motive videos, (Makoto didn't even bother to come), Sayaka knocks on his door. It was weird, seeing as how he was probably as approachable as Byakuya at this point.

"I'm really sorry to come by so late..."

"Let me guess, someone tried to force open your room?" Makoto deadpans.

"Huh? How did you..."

Makoto offers an exaggerated grin. "I did that. Scared you good, huh?"

Sayaka scrunches up her eyebrows. "What? You tried to open my door...?"

"Nah. You lied just now, didn't you? No one tried to do that."

...

"Um... I guess I'll just get out of your way now..." Sayaka says awkwardly.

"Oh, no no! Come in! In fact, you can stay in my room! I'll just sleep in yours. That would make you feel safer from this imaginary intruder, right? Then, when Leon comes over, you can murder him and then-"

"S-Stop!" Sayaka cries out. "Stop it!"

"Wanna know my _true _talent, Sayaka?" Makoto peers into Sayaka's eyes. "I'm the ultimate esper. You on the other hand, only have intuition. Isn't that right?"

"W-What?! You're an esper?" Sayaka immediately backs up from Makoto. "Is that how you were able to know what Monokuma was going to say?"

Makoto bobs his head up and down. "Yup yup!"

_Now, let's take a gamble..._

"By the way, can you stop repeating that over and over? It's pretty annoying."

"Gah!" Sayaka backs away even further from him. "Stop reading my mind!"

"See ya, Sayaka." Makoto sneers as he slams the door shut.

"Damn snake..." Makoto mutters to himself.

Oh well, time to go to bed.

* * *

Makoto arrives at the cafeteria last. He sees both Sayaka and Leon there, so it seems that Sayaka decided to not go with her murder plan.

Picking a spot at the edge of the table, Makoto sits down and looks around as he notices everyone was staring at him.

"Something on my face?" Makoto reaches up to scratch his cheek.

"... I was going to tell you this later, but seeing as you ended up in the cafeteria anyway, I guess I can just tell you now." Kyoko is the first to speak up.

"Oh, let me guess." Makoto says, winking at Sayaka. "You guys have decided on meeting up every morning right? On top of that, there's an unofficial rule to not go out of your dorms during the night."

"Have you been eavesdropping?" Kyoko asks with an accusatory tone.

"That's just creepy, dude." Hagakure comments.

Unexpectedly, Makoto bursts out laughing. "Hahahahaha! Oh man, you guys think that I would eavesdrop? It's just intuition, isn't that right, Sayaka?"

At the mention of her name, everyone turns to look at her.

"What does he mean by that?" Asahina looks worriedly at her.

_Did Makoto do something to Sayaka...?_

"Leave me alone..." Sayaka looks down and picks at her food.

"Hey asshole! What did you do to her, huh?" Mondo suddenly stands up, fists clenched.

"Nothing at all. It's more like that _she _tried to do something and I just confronted her about it."

"The fuck are you talking about? That's it, I'm pounding you to the ground!" Mondo growls and stalks towards Makoto.

"Hmmm... I don't think violence would be the answer in this situation." Makoto says, unconcerned. "You should sit back down."

Despite Mondo threateningly walking towards him, Makoto just continued to eat his breakfast.

Suddenly, Mondo leaps at Makoto quickly. It was so fast, that the other students didn't even see what happened until it was over.

Mondo jumped towards Makoto, fists raised. At the last second, Makoto raises his hand to point his fork at Mondo. The fork intercepts the punch, and since it was made out of metal, it dug right into his fists, drawing blood.

"AUGH! SHIT!" Mondo scrambles backwards, holding his injured hand.

"Aw man, you got blood on my food..." Makoto sighs and pushes his plate away.

"That is enough." Sakura booms, standing up. "If you continue to disturb the peace, then-"

"Woah woah woah." Makoto raises his hands in mock surrender. "It was self defense! I didn't even try to provoke him or anything."

"Fuck you!" Mondo shouts as he sits back down.

"..." Silently conceding, Sakura sits back down as well. He was right, of course. He didn't make any moves to threaten Mondo. If anything, it was actually Mondo that was to blame here.

"Hey guys! What's good?" Monokuma pops out of no where and jumps on the table. "Since the motives are out, I would like to further explain how the class trial will work!"

"The murderer along with everyone else is put into a trial room after an investigation period. Then, we all debate for some time. Finally, we vote for who the murderer is. If we get it right, the murderer is executed. If we get it wrong, the rest of us are executed." Makoto says.

"... Jeez. You're no fun." Monokuma growls disapprovingly.

"E-Executed?!" Toko shreiks.

"So, that's how it all works... Interesting." Byakuya smirks, unperturbed by this new rule.

"Hold on a freaking second!" Mukuro objects, pointing at Monokuma. "You're insane, you know that?

"Hmm?"

"A class trial? What the hell is th-"

*Ahem*

Makoto clears his throat, interrupting Mukuro midway through her speech.

"What the hell do you want?!" Mukuro snaps.

Makoto smiles and shakes his head. "Oh, nothing. Continue."

"..." While it seemed like Makoto had just interrupted her for the sake of interrupting her, Mukuro couldn't help but notice that his eyes were subtly shifting upwards, above her. Was he trying to tell her something?

Mukuro sneaks a quick glance above her and sees...

Several small holes on the ceiling.

_What...?_

"Well before Makoto so _rudely_ interrupted... What were you saying?" Monokuma asks.

Mukuro jumps, startled. _Right, the script..._

"A-Anyway, why would I want to risk my life trying to find a murderer?!"

"Huuuuuh?" Monokuma tilts his head. "You know, only the worst punishments await those who dare utter such blasphemy!"

"Punishment?"

"I might... I dunno, throw you into a deep dark prison or something!"

"Shut the hell up!" Mukuro snaps. "Say whatever you want, I'm not participating in this!"

"Junko..." Kyoko warns.

"Oooh, such evil standing before me! But I won't give in... It's my style to stick it out until the very end!" Claws shoot out from Monokuma's paws.

"If you want to rebel, you'll have to get through me first!"

With that, Monokuma charges pathetically at Mukuro.

_*Smash*_

*Ugh!" Monokuma's limbs flail as Mukuro stomps on Monokuma.

"Ha! Enjoying yourself now?"

"Are you?"

"Huh?"

"Violenece against the headmaster is against school regulations! I invoke a mighty summon spell..." Monokuma says in an ominous voice.

_Wait a minute, this part wasn't on the script..._

Suddenly, Mukuro flashes back to a minute ago.

While it seemed like Makoto had just interrupted her for the sake of interrupting her, Mukuro couldn't help but notice that his eyes were subtly shifting upwards, above her. Was he trying to tell her something?

"To me, Godly Spear of Gungnir!"

On pure soldier instincts, Mukuro instantly jumps backwards. As the Ultimate Soldier, both her movements and reflexes are near superhuman. But even this, coupled with Makoto's warning, wasn't enough to free her from all harm.

As Mukuro jumps backwards, one of the spears that had shot from the roof piereced directly through her left hand, causing blood to spurt everywhere. The spear had struck in the web of flesh that was between the thumb and pointer finger, leaving behind a massive hole.

"Ugh!" Mukuro grunts as her hand is struck with waves of agony.

"Aw man, only a glancing blow!" Monokuma gets up from the floor, brushing himself off.

"J-Junko!" Chihiro gasps.

"Ahhhhhh! Ms. Enoshima's bleeding!" Yamada shrieks.

Monokuma puts a paw to his mouth. "Puhuhuhu! Perhaps I should finish her off!"

With that, Monokuma extends his claw and walks menacingly over to Mukuro. But suddenly, Mondo steps in front of Monokuma, fists raises.

"If you wanna kill her, you gotta get through me first!" He shouts.

While the pain she's feeling was extremely intense, Mukuro's mind was on something else - Junko had just tried to kill her.

It was only thanks to Makoto that she had lived... But how did he know?

"Gyahahahaha! I dunno what's goin on but things are pretty lively!" A maniacal voice echoes throughout the cafeteria. Genocider Jill cackles as she observes this scene with interest.

"T-Toko? Are you feeling okay?" Asahina asks worriedly.

"Oh dang! Look at Ms. Milk Jugs over here! What did they feed you to make those jugs so juicy?"

"M-Milk jugs?!"

In the confusion, Makoto walks over to Mukuro and drags her by the elbow to the hallway, Mukuro hesitantly following him.

When they were away from the other students, Makoto brings out a wad of medical gauze and hands it to her.

"Here you go, Mukuro."

Deep down, Makoto thinks to himself -

_Why am I even doing this...? Not like any of it matters..._

"T-Thanks..." Mukuro nervously takes the gauze before asking: "How did you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Makoto replies with a straight face.

"Oh, come on!" Mukuro rolls her eyes. "You obviously do. How else would you know to bring the gauze?"

"Oh, I just bring it with me wherever I go. It's a coincidence."

Then, faster then the blink of an eye, Mukuro whips out a combat knife with her unwounded hand and moves to hold it up against Makoto's chest. Then, she stops and stares down.

Makoto was already holding a knife. It was pointed directly at her neck.

"Well, your knife is a good twenty inches away from me... and my knife is about three inches away from you." Makoto grins. "Are we gonna have to do this, or will you put away the knife and talk to me like a normal person?"

"..."

For a moment, the two stare at each other, daring the other to make a move. If Makoto hadn't just saved her life from Junko, she would have killed him - crush or not. But, considering the circumstances...

"Fine."

Mukuro sighs and puts away her knife. "Will you please just tell me, Makoto?"

Makoto places a hand on his chin and thinks to himself.

_Would it be interesting if I told her? Or would it just lead to the ending where I end up killed by one of my classmates...?_

_Eh, fuck it. Why not._

"Well, I won't bother telling you everything, but your sister has me trapped in a permanent time loop where I'm doomed to spend all of eternity trapped inside of this school." Makoto gives her a cheeky smile. "Will that suffice, Mukuro?"

Mukuro simply glares at him. "Stop kidding around."

Instantly, Makoto's mask drops.

His face...

It was dead.

It was completely dead.

Not a single ounce of emotion was shown anywhere. His eyes, once shining with hope, looked like a pair of dull rocks.

The sight of it causes Mukuro to shiver involuntarily.

"Who said that I was kidding?" Makoto whispers.

"Your sister made me like this, Mukuro." Makoto leans in, leaving less then an inch of space in-between their faces. "In fact, a part of the reason why she did this to me was probably you."

"M-Me...?" Mukuro asks quietly.

"She wants you to feel Despair. So she decided that trapping me like would probably suffice. Your sister did this to me for you."

"..." Mukuro could only stare at Makoto's face in terror. What happened to him?

Then, as quickly as it had vanished, Makoto's mask returns. His face looked disturbingly normal as he steps away from Mukuro, grinning.

"Good luck with Junko!" The luckster waves as he walks away. "She probably still wants to kill you!"

...

"Makoto..." Mukuro whispers to herself.

"Just what in the world did Junko do to you...?"


	32. Act 3, Chapter 4

"So I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets!"

Monokuma had just called everyone to the gym in order to announce the second motive - secrets. Even though everyone had a deep, dark secret, only a few people had secrets bad enough to kill over.

"And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here... I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!" Monokuma says, tossing the envelopes into the air.

While the other students scrambled to get their envelops, Makoto didn't even bother to grab his. He just his envelop on the floor, not even glancing down at it.

"Oh, one more thing!" Monokuma puts his paws up. "Makoto is _not _allowed to say anyone else's secrets! That wouldn't be very fun, would it?"

At this, several students immediately turn to stare at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Does this guy know all of our secrets already?!" Leon yells.

"I sure do. It would have been interesting to destroy the motive right here, but I guess that won't happen." Makoto shrugs nonchalantly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sayaka bend over to pick up his envelope from the floor. She was sneaking over, taking care to not let Makoto see her. But of course, he sees her anyway.

"Oh, Sayaka. You don't need to be sneaky."

Sayaka freezes, caught red handed with his secret in her hands. "Ah!"

"Go on, read it. In fact, you can read it out loud if you want. I don't really care." Makoto gives her a big smile.

Hesitantly, Sayaka opens the envelope and reads it out loud.

"Makoto Naegi wet the bed until the 5th grade..."

"Ha! What a fuckin dork!" Mondo laughs. "You act so tough but you're just a kid underneath, huh?"

Makoto nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! I'm just a kid! You're absolutely right."

Mondo wasn't expecting Makoto to agree. In fact, he was expecting Makoto to start turning red and act embarrassed. "Uh... Yeah, I guess?"

"Speaking of which, as a kid, I've always wanted a brother, you know? A brother that I could look up to, like a role model. But as I didn't have one, I just made up an imaginary brother on my own."

Everyone stares at Makoto strangely. Where did this tangent come from? But while everyone else acted confused, Mondo felt a growing sense of horror.

"In the end though, my imaginary brother saved my life. Tragically, he lost his own in the process. Isn't that a sad story?" Makoto says, winking at Mondo.

"Hey now, you might be crossing the line here!" Monokuma warns.

Makoto grins and backs up, hands raised in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll just make my way back to my dorms then, as I'm clearly not welcome here. Have a good day!"

_This is getting boring..._

_Let's try something new then.  
_

* * *

It was in the middle of the night.

Byakuya had seen Mondo run out of the girls changing room, piquing his curiosity. Now why would a guy like him be in there?

Taking a peek inside, he sees...

Chihiro Fujisaki, dead on the floor.

Instantly, conclusions form in his mind. Mondo had just killed her. Judging by the bloody spot on her head, she was probably struck with a blunt object. Since he had witnessed him leaving the crime scene, the class trial wouldn't be a problem.

How disappointing. A murder finally happened... Yet it might as well be already decided.

Then, an idea pops into Byakuya's head.

_I could make this trial a bit more interesting..._

* * *

"Ah, Makoto!" Asahina quickly walks up to him as he enters the dining hall.

"Did Monokuma talk to you too?" Sakura asks, trailing behind Asahina.

It was the morning after Monokuma had revealed his second motive. He was visited in his bedroom as soon as the morning announcement played, prompting him to go to the dining hall.

_"Good Morning!"_

_Makoto wakes up to see Monokuma standing on the edge of his bed._

_"Mornin." The luckster sits up and stretches, yawning as his joints popped._

_"Puhuhuhu! You're always so stoic, aren't you? Well, as you probably know, something had happened to one of your classmates. You should probably get to the dining hall, where everyone else is!"_

_"Right..." Makoto grumbles and jumps out of his bed. "See ya."_

"So, where's everyone else?" Makoto glances around. Only Hagakure, Asahina, Sakura, and himself were there.

"They're off trying to confirm what Monokuma told us about... A possible murder might have happened."

Makoto raises his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh, a murder has finally happened?"

"N-No! That can't be!" Asahina objects. "We got through the first motive together, why would anyone break at the second one?"

"Well I would like to find this body. If you'll excuse me, I'll get searching." Makoto says before promptly leaving the dining hall.

"Sakuara? Do you think that a murder really happened?" Asahina looks up worriedly at her friend.

"Worry not, Hina. Even if one did happen, I'm sure that we will find justice for the victim." Sakura says soothingly.

"You're right... Let's get searching then! We need to find what Monokuma told us about."

However, as soon as she says that...

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, the class trial will begin. Please use the allocated time to investigate to your hearts content!"_

**"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

A horrible, high pitched scream fills the entire room.

* * *

Asahina and Sakura were the last to arrive at the changing room. There, Sayaka was on the floor, covering her mouth with both of her hands as tears streamed down her face.

"Sayaka!" Asahina quickly runs over to her and shakes her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Wordlessly, Sayaka raises a trembling arm and points into the female lockers.

There, everyone else was gathered around something. They were talking to each other quietly, staring at the wall.

Asahina quickly moves in to join the group. "What happ..." Asahina's voice quickly dries up as she looks at the wall.

There, crucified in a gruesome matter, Byakuya was dead. Two scissors were stabbed through his wrists, pinning him onto the wall messily. On top of that, puncture wounds were decorated all over his body - most noticeably, on his neck. The copper scent of blood completely filled the room, and understandably so - the wall was painted in a fresh coat of dried blood. On top of that, the words "Bloodbath Fever" was written with blood. There were also splatters of blood all over the floor and on Byakuya himself.

By Byakuya's feet, Chihiro lay, also dead. Disturbingly, her skirt was torn to shreds. Most of the damage were directed to the lower part of her clothes, revealing her underwear.

Asahina could only stare, completely horrified, at this gruesome scene.

...

Then, she quickly runs out of the room and vomits onto the floor.

"AUGH!" The swimmer puts her hand to her chest as her breakfast quickly comes back up and splatters onto the floor.

As she finishes, she feels a large hand pat her gently on the back.

"Hina... Are you alright?"

"No... No, I'm not alright! Who would do something so... so terrible?! Not only did this person murder two people but... they did _that _to poor Chihiro!" Asahina cries out. "Why?!"

"I do not know... But I promise you Hina, we will find this person and make them pay." Sakura says in a low voice.

Back in the changing room, Monokuma popped up with a stack of tablets.

"Hey guys! I've got here the Monokuma file! It contains crucial details about each body. You guys will get one for every body that's discovered. Have fun investigating! Puhuhuhuhu!"

Makoto snatches one from Monokuma and looks down at it.

_Let's see here..._

_The victim was Chihiro Fujisaki. The body was discovered in the girls locker room, on the 2nd floor of the school. The cause of death was a blow to the head with a blunt object. She was killed instantly._

_The victim was Byakuya Togami. The body was discovered in the girls locker room, on the 2nd floor of the school. The cause of death was blood loss. His body had notably been crucified._

Interesting... Chihiro's file didn't include a time of death this time. It normally said that her time of death was at 2 AM.

Once again, it was time for Makoto to investigate Chihiro's death. But now, he gets to look at Byakuya's corpse...

_Fascinating... I love it!_

* * *

Something that caught Makoto's attention was that this investigation period lasted twice as long as it was supposed to. This was probably due to the fact that two bodies were found this time.

While this interested him quite a bit, this interest had quickly turned into boredom as Makoto quickly found himself with nothing to do. He already knows everything that this case had to offer - investigating was pretty useless. Even Byakuya's body didn't offer much to investigate.

But thankfully...

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_ "Erm, so ah...I'm getting tired of waiting. Shall we just plunge right in? It's the moment you've all been waiting for...the first class trial! You remember where to meet, right? Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhuhu! See you soon!"_

"Finally... That took quite a while." Makoto sighs in relief.

"How could you say something like that?!" Sayaka cries. "Two of our... friends are dead!"

Makoto instantly turns around to stare at her with a vicious grin. "Like you're one to fucking talk."

Sayaka flinches and looks away. "S-Stop..."

"Hey, leave her alone why don't you?" Leon scowls at him.

"Oh, Leon defending Sayaka? How ironic." Makoto grins and starts walking towards the 1st floor. "See you guys in the class trial!"

Leon shakes his head. "Man, what a jerk... What did he even mean by ironic?"

Sayaka meanwhile, has started shaking uncontrollably. This was almost too much. She had almost tried to _kill _Leon, and yet here he was... defending her... It didn't exactly help that Makoto rubbed salt on her wound at practically every other opportunity. The guilt was already crushing her soul, but this coupled with the recent murders and Makoto's teasing threatened to completely suffocate her.

"L-Leon... I'm so sorry..." Sayaka whispers, tears pouring out of her eyes.

Leon blinks once, confused. "Huh? You didn't do anything though. Come on, just ignore Makoto. Let's get to the elevator room, huh? That damned bear..."

Sayaka nods silently and begins to slowly walk towards the elevator room.

_I'm going to have to try to find a murderer... And then vote for them..._

_I'm going to actually cause someone's death if we find the murderer..._

_I will have to choose to execute someone..._

It was all too much.


	33. Act 3, Chapter 5

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"Is the killer really one of us...? Someone really murdered those two like that...?" Asahina winces as she remembers how both bodies had been tampered with.

"But of course!"

"Assuming that each victim was killed by a separate murderer, do we have to catch two killers?" Kyoko asks.

"Puhuhuhu! Don't worry. If there are two murderers, only the one who committed the most recent murder counts!"

"So we only have to find one murderer..."

...

"So, erm..." Yamada raises a finger hesitantly. "What do we discuss first?"

"Duh!" Leon shouts, pointing to his head mockingly. "We gotta find out which one died first!"

"It's pretty obvious Chihiro died first." Makoto comments.

"Oh yeah? How would you know that?" Leon challenges.

Makoto mentally facepalms. Does he really need to explain these things to these idiots? This was one thing that he had grown to hate. In pretty much every trial, it was always the same three people figuring everything out. Everyone else just sits there and make terrible assumptions. In fact, the only thing those guys were good for was providing testimony.

"Just look at her wound. Then, look at Byakuya's."

...

"I don't get it." Leon deadpans.

This time, Makoto physically face palms. "You know what? Fuck it, figure it out yourself."

"Hey! It's your fuckin life on the line here too, you know!"

"You think that I care?"

"Enough." Kyoko's cold voice interrupts their arguement. "From the blood on Chihiro's wound, it can be assumed that he died first. His blood was signifcantly more cogelated then Byakuya's."

"Ummm, Kyoko? Chihiro is a she." Hagakure says.

"No. I examined his body - Chihiro was most definitely a male."

"I can confirm that." Sakura nods. "I have seen it for myself - Chihiro is most definitely male."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Yamada shrieks.

"No... No way!" Asahina gasps. "Is that why Chihiro never wanted to swim with us?!"

"Wait a minute..." Ishimaru says. "If Byakuya is male... and Chihiro is male... WHY WERE THEY BOTH IN THE FEMALE CHANGING ROOMS?!"

This brings Makoto some pause. That was actually a pretty good point. Sayaka wasn't dead... so how did Mondo put Chihiro's body in the female changing room?

"Monokuma's rules state that loaning e-books is not allowed... However, there's a loophole in that statement." Kyoko says.

"A... loophole?" Asahina tilts her head in confusion.

"It doesn't say anything about stealing a handbook from anyone." Kyoko clarifies.

"That means that the murderer could be male as well, no?" Celeste asks.

"Damn! The murderer could be anyone at this point!" Leon snaps. "Isn't there any decisive evidence or something?

"Actually, I found something." Kyoko brings out a stack of papers from her coat pocket. "These are files on an individual known as Genocider Jill.

"Woah! Genocider Jill?!" Mondo stares at the papers that Kyoko was holding. "I've heard about that serial killer before."

"S-Serial killer?!" Hagakure screeches. "No no no! I'm not hearing this!"

"These files contain detailed descriptions of Jill's modus operandi. Some of it has never been revealed to the public - meaning that it's likely that the genuine Genocider Jill is here among us."

"Where did you even get those?" Leon asks cautiously.

"They were in the archive room." Kyoko clarifies. "This murder fits her usual procedure - crucified using unique pairs of scissors and 'Bloodbath Fever' written on the wall with blood. Plus, Byakuya fits the bill for usual victims, being a young male."

"You say that this serial killer is here among us?" Sakura asks.

"What?! Where?" Yamada looks around him suspiciously.

"Oh, that's Toko." Makoto says calmly.

"H-Huh?" Toko, who had been sulking silently ever since Byakuya was killed, perks up at the mention of her name.

"You're Genocider Jill, right?"

"There's no way someone like her could be a serial killer! I mean, she literally passes out as soon as she sees blood." Sayaka objects.

"... N-No... It's true..." Toko says, glaring at both of her hands. "I-I hate her... so much... S-She killed my white knight..."

"WHAT?! YOU'RE GENOCIDER JILL?!" Yamada, who had been standing directly next to her, backs up several feet.

"Y-Yes... She killed my white knight..." Toko moans pathetically.

"You refer to Jill as if she's not you... Yet, you claim that you are her!" Ishimaru points out.

"Oh, that's easily explained. Toko has a split personality."

"How cliche..." Yamada comments.

"Hey, that would actually make a lot of sense!" Asahina's face brightens as she pounds her fist into her palm.

_"Gyahahahaha! I dunno what's goin on but things are pretty lively!" A maniacal voice echoes throughout the cafeteria. Genocider Jill cackles as she observes this scene with interest._

_"T-Toko? Are you feeling okay?" Asahina asks worriedly._

_"Oh dang! Look at Ms. Milk Jugs over here! What did they feed you to make those jugs so juicy?"_

_"M-Milk jugs?!"_

"She always acted really weird after passing out! That must have been Genocider Jill!"

"So, was it Genocider Jill who killed Byakuya?" Sayaka asks. "But then, who killed Chihiro? I think we should try to figure that out too...

Kyoko nods. "There are plenty of missing details in this case that I would like to clear up as well.

"Huh?" Hagakure scratches his head. "We know who to vote for dude, what's the point?"

"Idiot. If we just rush into voting not knowing all of the details, we could all be executed." Makoto sneers unpleasantly at the clairvoyant.

"Is anyone here missing their student e-handbook?" Kyoko asks.

...

No one said anything - they apparently all had their e-handbooks.

"Why is this relevant?" Celeste asks.

"While Genocider Jill could have gotten into the changing room by her own accord, that still does not explain Chihiro. By him being there, it shows that either a female let her in, or a females e-handbook was stolen. Since no one had theirs stolen, I suppose it can be assumed that whoever murdered her was female as well.

"Isn't it possible that Genocider Jill killed him as well?" Celeste glances disdainfully at Toko. "She _is _a serial killer after all."

Kyoko shakes her head. "Not only was Chihiro thought to be a girl, but she was killed by a blunt object - it contradicts her M.O."

"Speaking of which..." Asahina scratches her chin with her finger. "Chihiro's skirt was completely torn apart... Was it really a girl who did that?"

Makoto shakes his head and grins evilly. "Isn't it possible that a guy tried to _rape _him, only to discover that he was a boy? Then, in a fit of rage, he kills him."

At this, several of the girls paled.

"Disgusting! What's wrong with you?!" Asahina shouts furiously.

"Why else would his skirt be ripped up like that?" Makoto challenges.

"Enough. I will not allow for you to derail our discussion in such a distasteful matter." Sakura booms, clenching her fists in fury.

"Fine, fine..."

Celeste clears her throat. "Speaking of details, perhaps I should mention something?"

Kyoko nods. "Go ahead."

"Apologies for not mentioning this earlier, but I saw Chihiro last night. She seemed to be in a hurry and was carrying a duffel bag. In it, was a blue tracksuit. When questioned, she said that she was going to work out."

Hagakure scratches his chin. "Huh. I didn't expect him to be the type to be working out."

"Well, that confirms that he went into the boys locker room of his own will... Then, somehow Chihiro, along with Byakuya, both ended up dead and in the female locker rooms." Kyoko mused.

"Byakuya's case is obvious, and that's all that matters right now!" Hagakure claims. "We can figure that other stuff out later, let's just vote for Toko!"

Toko flinches but doesn't raise any objections. "M-My white knight..."

Mondo, who had been keeping quiet since the trial started, scowls down at the floor. "Yeah, let's just get this over with, huh?"

"Oh? Are we ready to proceed to voting?" Monokuma asks, perking up.

"No. We should fully deliberate the case before proceeding." Kyoko objects. "There is still one murderer unaccounted for."

Makoto smiles softly. "Blunt force, and the murder weapon was that dumbbell right next to her. Clearly, she wanted to train with someone, but this person ended up killing her instead. And since he himself was a boy, wouldn't it make sense that he had asked to work out with another boy?"

Celeste nods. "That would make sense."

"So who would Chihiro ask to work out with him?" Leon asks, looking around.

"All I can really think of would be you, Mr. Owada, and Mr. Ishimaru." Yamada comments.

"Well there's no way in hell I killed him!" Leon claims.

"Agreed! I must be a role model to students everywhere! ROLE MODELS DO NOT KILL!" Ishimaru roars.

"I would never do anything to hurt a chick!"

"But he's a guy." Makoto deadpans.

"Oh... Well still, I wouldn't kill him!"

_Sure. Sure you wouldn't kill him. Damn it Mondo, you're not going to be executed or anything. Why won't you just confess?_

"Ugh, you know how long this trial has been going on for?!" Monokuma shouts. "If you guys don't finish up soon, I'll just call the vote! I'M BORED!"

"Come on! We already know who the murderer is! She even admitted it herself! Just get on with it already!" Hagakure shouts, pointing at Toko.

"Yeah!"

"Let's just vote already!"

Kyoko shakes her head. "No, we must-"

"Kyoko, we all want to get this over with." Makoto says in a monotone voice. "Just drop it."

Mummurs of agreement echoes throughout the trial room - everyone was exhausted. They had just seen two gruesome muders and were forced to investigate it and then debate about it for hours. Now that they knew who the killer was, they all felt like the case could just be shut.

"Well, if everyone is in agreement..." Monokuma says.

"Time for the ultimate climax! Who will you elect as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? Puhuhuhuhu!"

"It's VOTING TIME!"

...

One by one, the students cast their votes.

...

...

...

**Guilty Verdict:**

**Toko Fukawa has been selected as the blackened!**

...

...

...

"Puhuhuhu..." Monokuma giggles, putting his paws to his mouth. "PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHU!"

"What? Why are you laughing?" Leon demands.

"Because... Because because, you got it wrong! The true culprit was Makoto Naegi! PUHUHUHUHUHUHU!"

* * *

_"Well now, what do we have here?"_

_Byakuya freezes as he hears a mocking voice come from behind him. Whirling around, he finds himself looking up at..._

_Makoto._

_"Tampering with a crime scene Byakuya?" Makoto sneers. "That's pretty low of you."_

_Byakuya had just about finished crucifying Chihiro. By using the laptop cord and the blood that came from her head wound, he managed to recreate a murder scene reminiscent of Genocider Jill._

_"Hmph. Of course it would be you who catches me in the act... and would know that I didn't even murder her." Byakuya stands up and brushes himself off. "What are you going to do now that you know, hm?"_

_Unbeknownst to him, Makoto's heart was racing. It was the first time in quite a while that Makoto had felt this nervous. The raw emotion coursing through him... It made him feel alive. _

_He was rejuvenated. His heart felt like it was on fire! This was all because of what he was about to do._

_"So, you want to make a crime scene that looks like it was done by Genocider Jill?" Makoto whispers, inching closer to Byakuya. "I'll help you with that."_

_"Wha - URK!" Byakuya gasps, as he feels a sharp pain in his chest._

_Slowly and deliberately, he looks down._

_There were a pair of scissors, stabbed through him._

_Soon, the pain is multiplied exponentially as Makoto stabs him over and over again. He was wielding two scissors, both genuine Genocider Jill ones. He had taken them from Toko when she passed out. Adrenaline courses through his veins as he watches himself stab Byakuya over and over and over again. Finally, something new was happening. Finally, this was a completely new experience.  
_

_Blood spurts out everywhere. It ends up all over the walls, on Makoto's clothes, and even on Chihiro's body._

_The worst part was that Byakuya couldn't even scream. He tried his damned best to shout out to anyone that might have been nearby. But of course, it was pretty hard to scream when there were a pair of scissors sticking through your throat._

_Byakuya could only choke on his own blood as he collapses on the floor, crimson blood spurting out from various wounds on his body._

_Byakuya Togami dies from blood loss thirty seconds later._


	34. Act 3, Chapter 6

"WHAT?!"

Everyone immediately turns around to face Makoto.

Then everyone immediately averts their gaze based on pure instinct.

Makoto's expression...

It was one of pure, sadistic evil.

"Ah, I look forwards to seeing what all of your executions will look like. Perhaps that would finally relieve me of my boredom."

His face contorts into a maniacal smile as he stares back at his classmates with absolutely no remorse.

"So, as per the rules, _all_ of you will be punished! Puhuhuhu!"

"H-How?" Kyoko demands, face red. "How did you completely match Genocider Jill's M.O?

"Well, I saw the files for myself of course."

"B-But, Genocider Jill herself literally confessed!" Hagakure points frantically at Toko who was holding her head in her hands.

"Remember how Toko and Genocider Jill are actually split personalities? Well, they don't share memories at all!" Makoto says, spreading his hands. "Of course, Toko would just _assume _that Genocider Jill killed him!"

"Makoto... why?" Sayaka asks desperately.

"N-No... You were the one who killed master...?" Toko glares weakly at Makoto.

"Yeah. Oh, and by the way, it was Mondo who killed Chihiro." Makoto says casually.

Instantly, everyone turns to face Mondo. His face was blue and he was sputtering nervously. "I-I-I... He... Chi-Chihiro..."

"Don't lie!" Ishimaru roars. "My bro would _never _kill anyone!"

Makoto shrugs. "Whatever you say."

"But why? Why would you cut up Chihiro's skirt like that? Were you really trying to... force yourself onto him?" Asahina shivers as she forces herself to look into Makoto's eyes.

Makoto shakes his head in denial. "I've known for the start that he was a guy. That stunt was just to help speed the class trial along. You guys figured out from the start that he was a guy since I did that."

"Now then, Monokuma. Let's get to the executions, huh?"

"Puhuhuhu! Of course! Without further ado..."

"NOOOO!" Yamada jumps off his podium and runs to the elevator, banging on the door. "LET US OUT OF HEREEEEE!"

"AHHHHH! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Hagakure shrieks, holding his head with his hands.

"No way..." Mukuro stares at Makoto in shock. He would have been the last person she expected to resort to murder.

"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma brings out a wooden hammer and dramatically smashes it down a red button.

Instantly, chains shoot out from the roof and secures all of the students, preventing them from moving around.

"Ah! Let go of me!"

"This can't be happening..."

"Stop it!"

**Game Over**

**Kyoko, Toko, Yamada, Mukuro, Mondo, Leon, Sayaka, Ishimaru, Asahina, Sakura, Celeste, and Hagakure have failed to find the culprit.**

**Time for the punishment!**

* * *

**The 1,000 Blows**

Leon is dragged by the neck into a dark hallway, leading into a batting cage. Leon is forcefully thrown in and the chains wrap him around a pole. Three more metallic shackles appear and snap on his torso, thighs, and just below his knees to keep him in a still position, sticking his hands in the neck shackle.

A pitching machine is then placed in front of his helpless form and begins to shoot a few slow balls at him. After a couple of seconds, the pitching machine starts shooting countless baseballs at immense speed while spinning around Leon's suspended body. Leon throws his head back as hundreds of baseballs pelt him over and over again.

To add insult to injury, Monokuma appears next to the pitching machine and begins to bat at a few balls towards Leon.

Finally, several baseballs are shot at once directly at Leon's bloodied and bruised face, finishing him off.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Cage Of Death**

Monokuma (Who is wearing a mocking pompadour wig) rev's the engine of a motorcycle as Mondo, who is tied up and placed behind him, looks on in horror. In front of them, is a giant metal cage in the shape of a ball. Two tiger heads flank the sides of the ball. Behind it, a circus tent is placed.

After a couple of seconds, Monokuma abruptly shoots forward, riding the motorcycle at am extremely high speed. He jumps off the bike, leaving Mondo to his own devices as the bike goes inside the metal cage and begins to speed up dramatically. As Mondo goes around faster and faster, strong electric charges run through the cage, causing extremely bright lights to flash.

When the bike finally slows down, there's nothing left of Mondo.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**The Burning of the Versailles Witch**

Celeste is tied up to the top of a stake as several Monokuma's wielding torches berate her with insults. All around her, wooden cottages and stone castles pop up. Eventually, one of the Monokuma's place their torches at the stack of hay near the foot of the stake.

The fire spreads, quickly burning up the stacks of hay as well as some of the wooden cottages nearby. Celeste is slowly roasted by the flames as the inferno completely surrounds her.

But then, out of nowhere, a fire truck comes rushing in. Except instead of attempting to extinguish the flames, it drives off a ramp at an extremely high speed and collides directly with Celeste's tied up body.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Excavator Destroyer**

Sakura is bound and tied up by an endless number of chains. She is then placed onto a flimsy looking chair as various buildings and gates are erected behind her. As Sakura struggles with her binds, Monokuma drives an excavator, ramming through the previously mentioned buildings and gates, collapsing them. He stops the excavator just behind Sakura.

Monokuma, wearing a hard hat, pushes forward on one of the levers, bringing the arm of the excavator high up. For a second, nothing else happens.

Then, he smashes is down with extreme force. Sakura gasps as the full force of the excavator collides with her back. Cracking noises are heard as the excavator arm grinds into her chains. Some of them had broken from the sheer force.

But before Sakura could brace herself, the excavator begins to slam down on her in a ridiculous speed. Monokuma flails about in the excavator as the arm smashes Sakura again and again. Blood and bone fragments fly out in a frenzy as Sakura is slowly and brutally dismantled by the machine.

Then, it was over. Monokuma completely stopped the excavator as it backed up slightly, allowing the sole spectator - Makoto, to look at her mangled corpse. The back of her head and body were completely torn apart, leaving the spine and skull visible. Blood was splattered everywhere.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**After School Lesson**

Kyoko is forcibly restrained to a chair and desk and placed on a conveyor belt. As the conveyor belt moves backwards, Monokuma lectures her about several absurd topics with his blackboard. Every few seconds, a loud thumping noise comes from behind her as a large compactor smashes onto the ground in a pattern.

Slowly but surely, Kyoko is dragged backwards as the compactor routinely slams into the ground with thousands of pounds of force. After an excruciatingly long wait, Kyoko is finally placed directly underneath the compactor. It stalls, just for a second.

Then it slams into the ground, completely crushing Kyoko, as well as the desk. Mere bits of flesh and hair are all that remains of the detective as the conveyor moves her remains backwards, dropping her off to the garbage chute.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Cupid's Wrath**

Yamada is tied to the ground, spread eagled, as various Monokuma's run past him in a hurry. They were sweating bullets, apparently terrified of whatever they were running from. As this happens, a slow rhythmic stomping noise is heard coming from the direction they were running from.

Eventually, a figure comes forth, casting a giant shadow on top of Yamada.

It was Princess Piggles - in all of her pink glory. She was wearing her typical uniform, as well as small white wings on her back. In her hands, she held her trademark bow and arrow. The bow however, was loaded with hundreds of arrows. Each arrow had hearts on the tips.

She brings the bow up, aiming at the sky. Yamada, who is still restrained to the ground, looks around frantically, only to realize that the ground he was tied up on was painted in the image of a target.

Piggles fires, shooting hundreds of arrows to travel in an arc as they all made their way to Yamada's target. The ground is completely littered in arrows as each and every arrow burrows itself into either the ground near Yamada, or into Yamada himself. Fountsins of blood sprout up all over him as the arrows puncture every inch of his body. Yamada dies instantly as several of the arrows had completely pierced his brain.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Dancing Queen**

Various metal wires are attached all over Sayaka's body as she's placed on a disco floor. Various colorful lights flash from underneath her as she carefully walks around. Suddenly, electricity courses through the metal wires, and by extension, Sayaka herself. She cries out as her body jerks involuntarily to the current running through her.

The electric current doesn't stop - in fact, it only gets stronger. The wires crackle and glow as energy courses through it. Sayaka convulses horribly, collapsing on the floor as her body is shaken around by the electricity.

Soon, Sayaka's eyes roll to the back of her head as she begins foaming at the mouth. All the while her convulsions get stronger and stronger as the metal wires begin to glow brighter and brighter.

It continues for around two more minutes. The energy being pumped into the wires is slowly increased until...

_*BOOM!*_

They completely overload, exploding in a dramatic fashion. The disco lights flicker and turn off as Sayaka's corpse, still jerking around as if tugged by a string, is left on the floor to burn from the fires caused by the explosion.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Final Exams**

Ishimaru is forcibly restrained to a desk in the middle of an empty classroom. He is forced into a straight sitting position, with only his arms and head free to move around. In front of him, there is a freshly sharpened pencil and a piece of paper. The paper is completely blank, save for a single sentence written on the top.

**"Write a 1,000 word essay on why you shouldn't be executed."**

Ishimaru's eyes light up as he reads this. He begins to get Hope - Hope that he might be able to escape his execution and keep his life. But this Hope weakly flickers as a mechanical arm suddenly grabs his right hand and forces it to grab the pencil.

The mechanical arm positions Ishimaru's arm on top of the paper, before forcing it to write in an incredible speed. Ishimaru cries out in pain as his hand is forcibly tugged around. By the end of it all, Ishimaru was forced to write this 1,000 word essay in 30 seconds. The mechanical arm releases Ishimaru's hand, which was already swelling from the incredibe amount of work it was put through.

Then, the mechanical arm places itself directly behind Ishimaru as it rips his shirt off, exposing his skin to the air. Ishimaru looks backwards in a panic, as he sees it pick up a pen. This pen had an extremely sharp tip.

Then, as fast as it forced Ishimaru to write, it begins slashing into Ishimaru's skin in a blazingly fast speed. His skin tears and blood spurts out as the arm copies Ishimaru's essay word for word, writing it on Ishimaru's back.

Throughout this process, Ishimaru screams horribly as literal smoke begins to rise out from his back, mixing in with the mist of blood coming out from his wounds. When the essay was finally over, Ishimaru's back was completely torn up. Through the thick layer of blood, indents of words are seen -

**"FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL..."**

The same thing was written on both Ishimaru's back and on the paper. The word FAIL 1,000 times. The moral compass is left there to slowly die as blood drains out of his mangled body.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**One In Three**

Hagakure is placed at the beginning of an extremely long hallway. The hall was slanted upwards, and every couple of feet, there was a torch, dimly lighting the passage.

Hagakure's restraints are removed. As soon as this happens, he turns backwards and tries to open the door. Of course, it was locked tight. With nowhere else to go, Hagakure begins to trek up the hallway, taking a torch with him.

After several minutes of walking, Hagakure meets a large gray door. Above it, an exit sign was glowing. On the floor in front of the door, there were three buttons. Each one was a different color - red, blue, and yellow.

Hagakure takes out his crystal ball and peers into it. After some deliberating, he goes to the red button. Taking a deep breath, he presses it.

Miraculously, the gray door opens. Hagakure pumps his fist in celebration and quickly moves forward to exit. However, he is stopped short as a gigantic boulder suddenly falls out of nowhere, landing beyond the gray door.

The boulder falls through the door, going down the slanted hallway as it gradually picks up speed. Panicking, Hagakure runs back down the hall, screaming his head off.

Eventually, Hagakure reaches the locked doors at the beginning of the hall and bangs on it, begging to be let out.

Nothing happens.

The boulder tumbles down the hall. Hagakure presses the palms of both of his hands together in prayer, but it does nothing.

Hagakure is completely crushed by the boulder.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Hailfire**

Mukuro is thrown into a gigantic white room. Said room was completely empty, save for several turrets attached to the walls. Monokuma's were manning the turrets, each one wearing a camo hat.

As Mukuro's binds were removed, the turrets begin to spin faster and faster. Soon, the entire room was filled with banging noises as each turret rapidly spits bullets at Mukuro.

Mukuro does her best to dodge every single bullet - and so far, she was doing well. Not a single bullet grazed her as she dodges each bullet, trapped in a graceful dance as she twists her body around.

But fifteen minutes later, Mukuro begins to tire. And the turrets show no signs of running out of ammo or overheating. Eventually, a bullet finally hits its mark - a glancing hit to Mukuro's leg.

It wasn't a serious injury, but it was enough to throw her off balance. As soon as that happened, it was all over.

Mukuro is completely and utterly decimated as showers of bullet completely ravages her body, tearing it to shreds. No less then ten seconds later, her body was torn into unrecognizable bits. The Monokumas shoot at those unrecognizable bits until they turn into mere particles.

Mukuro completely disappears, leaving behind only a splatter of blood.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**The 500 Meter Sprint**

Asahina is placed in an indoor track. Every 20 meters, there was a sign listing amounts of distance. At the very end of the hall, a timer for 60 seconds along with a case of stairs leading out of the room. Next to it, there was a sign listing the distance she would need to run:

**500m**

A Monokuma stands next to Asahina and lifts a gun above his head.

_*BANG!*_

As soon as it fires, Asahina's chains are taken off. At the same time, water begins to pour in from various holes on the roof, quickly filling the room. For a second, Asahina looks around in shock, not knowing what to do. But when she sees the timer at the end of the hall, she breaks out in a sprint.

_55 seconds_

Asahina runs desperately as she bolts down the end of the hall. The water pouring down from the roof quickly begins to fill the room. It slows her down dramatically as she tries to run as fast as she can.

_30 seconds_

The water has reached 3 feet in height, covering most of the track. Asahina transitions from running to swimming. She swims at a lightning fast pace as she zips down the track.

_15 seconds_

Asahina had just reached the 360 meter mark. She hadn't slowed down at all since she began swimming, just moving forwards with her goal in mind - the stairs at the end of the track. The water at this point filled most of the room, leaving only the stairs visible. There was only 2 feet of space left between the water and the roof, and the pouring water showed no signs of slowing.

_5 seconds_

Asahina was a mere 20 meters away from her goal. She had finally begun to slow down as exhaustion took its toll - the extended period of adrenaline that had been pumping through her body ever since their executions were announced had begun to falter. The room was completely filled with water now, so Asahina was forced to hold her breath as she sees the stairs, completely enveloped in water, begin to close. It was folding on itself, filling in the gap leading out of the room.

_0 seconds_

The stairs had folded up, leaving no exit left in the room. The holes that the water was coming from had closed as well. Asahina was trapped in the room, completely submerged in water and with no escape.

_-15 seconds_

Slowly but surely, she begins to loose energy as oxygen is drained from her lungs.

_-30 seconds_

Asahina loses consciousness. Water fills her lungs as she drowns.

_-60 seconds_

Asahina's brain shuts down as it loses all sources of oxygen.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

**Peine forte et dure**

Toko is restrained to the ground, placed face up. A long wooden plank is placed on top of her, going from the top of her head all the way down to her feet.

A Monokuma wearing glasses appears with a large stack of books in his arms. He evenly distributes the books on top of the wooden plank, causing it shift downwards slightly from the weight.

As the Monokuma leaves, three more take its place, carrying even more books. They do the same thing, placing the books across the wooden plank evenly, adding more and more weight on top of Toko. And as the three leave, five more take its place, doing the same thing. Then seven Monokumas, nine Monokumas, eleven Monokumas... And with each one, they bring more and more books.

Toko begins to shriek in pain as she is slowly and painfully crushed by hundreds of books. The pressure eventually breaks her ribs and her skull as it shifts heavily downwards. The bone fragments pierces her organs.

As more books are added, the plank just sags lower and lower. Toko was already dead at this point, but more weight is added anyway.

Finally, it stops. Toko was completely crushed under the weight of hundreds and hundreds of books, leaving her corpse completely disfigured.

**Execution Over!**

* * *

***A/N* I had some fun writing these executions to be honest :)**


	35. Act 3, Chapter 7

Makoto watches his classmates die one by one. They die in extremely gruesome matters. These classmates, the very same ones that he had spent over 2 years bonding with, were dropping like flies. And it was he who did this to them. He sent them to the gallows with no remorse.

But Makoto felt nothing but an insignificant amount of amusement. He didn't feel Despair, he didn't feel guilty. He just thought -

_These new executions look pretty cool._

There was no sadness in his heart. Why would there be? All of it was going to be reversed anyway.

When Toko was sent up to be executed, Junko sat next to him to watch. It was the last execution, and it was sure to be gruesome.

...

...

...

Yup. Being crushed like that looked like it hurt. Now, there were only two people living. Makoto himself, and Junko Enoshima.

"Well Makoto, how do you feel? You just killed all of your friends. Look at all of them, dead on the floor. Isn't it so _Despairful?_" Junko asks giddily, carefully observing his reaction.

"... Is this really what Despair feels like? If so, then that's pretty disappointing." Makoto deadpans.

"Huh?" Junko glances at him with surprise.

_Does he really not feel Despair?_

"OH!" Junko snaps her fingers as she remembers. "You probably don't have your memories yet! Alright little Makoto, stay right here as I fetch a flashback li-"

"I know that they aren't strangers. I know that we've spent years together as classmates." Makoto waves his hand nonchalantly. "Can I get out of this school now?"

"What? You just killed 14 of your closest friends! Why aren't you Despairing?"

Makoto glances over at Junko. "I guess all of that time traveling numbed me or something."

Realization dawns upon Junko's face. "Ohhhhhh. I guess you're already tired of Despairing."

"Eh, I've never really Despaired. Not truly. My Hope just kind of vanished... I'm bored."

"W-What?!" Junko stutters. "You haven't Despaired yet?! How many times have you been through this?"

Makoto tilts his head in recollection. "I would say fifty times."

"Puhuhuhuhu! Only fifty?! From the way you've been acting, I expected at least ten times as much! To think your hope only lasted fifty loops... Puhuhuhu!" Junko holds her stomach as she bellows in laughter.

"Sure." Makoto brushes her teasing off and grabs the remote from her hands.

"What the? Hey!" Junko complains.

"I'm gonna explore the world out there before my time runs out. See ya." Makoto says, walking to the main entrance.

"Wait for me!" Junko shouts, scrambling to catch up to him.

* * *

Makoto walks through the door, only to be met with several rifles pointed directly at him and Junko.

"Freeze. Put your hands up and don't make any movements."

Junko just smirks and presses on her white hair clip. The black clip doubled as a trigger for the time machine. So what does the white one do?

_*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG*_

A sudden barrage of bullets answers that. All at once, the Future Foundation soldiers drop like flies as they get pumped full of lead.

"That takes care of that!" Junko jumps ahead to the helicopter that was behind the soldiers and shoves her hand in. She pulls the pilot out of the drivers chair and throws him behind her.

"Augh!" The pilot grunts as he slams onto the ground.

Makoto wordlessly steps past him and jumps into the helicopter.

"Anything I should take a look at while I can?" Makoto asks.

Junko immediately twists her neck to stare into Makoto's eyes. "Oooh! You wanna take a tour?! WELL LET'S GO THEN! PUHUHUHUHU!"

Junko lifts the helicopter off the ground and winks at Makoto. "Let's go on a joyride!"

"..."

"Loosen up already!" Despite the fact that she was currently the only one piloting helicopter, she jumps out of her seat and sits next to Makoto.

"Not worried about crashing?" Makoto raises a single brow.

"Nope! Come on, emote! You're reminding me of Izuru..." Junko puts her hand on Makoto's face and brings it close to hers.

"..."

Junko abruptly smashes her lips into Makoto's and begins making out with him. "Come on, Naegi... Show me some _love_."

The helicopter begins spinning the air as Junko begins to straddle Makoto, still noisily kissing him.

_Well, this time loop is more interesting then I thought it would be..._ Makoto thinks in amusement as they begin spiraling to the ground.

"Alright alright, enough." Makoto pushes Junko's face away as she pouts in disappointment.

"Aw, fine..." Junko grins teasingly at Makoto before jumping back into the cockpit. She rights the helicopter up, preventing them from crashing. They were around 3 feet away from the ground.

"Let's see... What should I show you today, Makoto?" Junko ponders.

"Whatever's interesting."

"Can do!"

* * *

**The 51st Killing Game**

...

Makoto yawns as he gets off of his desk. For the remaining amount of time before the deadline, he had mainly just fucked around with Junko, doing random stuff in the name of Despair. He even met this Izuru person that she always liked to talk about.

_"Heyyy Izuru! I met your twin today! Meet Makoto Naegi!" Junko laughs, patting Makoto on the head._

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"Jeez. You two always complain about boring stuff, but you guys are the most boring of them all!"_

It had been a short meeting.

Makoto heads to the gym and goes in ahead of time. Choosing a comfy looking corner, he sits down and goes back to sleep. It was gonna be a while before Monokuma calls them all here, so might as well kill some time.

* * *

"Hey kid, you alright?"

Makoto wakes up to the sight of Mondo shaking his shoulder. "Oh good, I thought you might've been dead or something."

Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, Makoto looks around the gym. From what he can tell, everyone else was here. He had practically killed all of these people, except for Chihiro. Maybe he should fix that this time around?

...

_Nah. Watching Chihiro die again would be boring.  
_

Mondo snaps his fingers in front of Makoto's face. "Hey kid, can you talk?"

"... Oh, hey Daiya." Makoto stretches his arms out as he stands back up.

"Huh?! What did you just say?!" Mondo steps backwards in shock. Did this kid know his brother somehow?

"Oh hey, we haven't been introduced yet, huh?" Asahina bounces up to him. "Hey! I'm Aol Asahina, but my friends call me Hina."

"... Cool."

...

...

"So uh," Asahina scratches the back of her head awkwardly. "What's your name?"

"It's Makoto de los Remedios y Feodorovna Cipriano Diego José Francisco de Nietzsche Paula Juan Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Ilyich Ulyanov y Johannes Chrysostomus y Inga Karkhuul Haw'kohd Dis'nahm Bi'ahni Lawga Ormo Pohmpus Da'nit Ar'edi Iz Wolfgangus Theophilus de Nepomuceno Tzu Voltaire María de la Santísima Trinidad de Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Ruiz y Yefimovich Rasputin los Naegi Jr. XVI." Makoto recites this ridiculous name with a completely straight face.

...

"Umm... Can I just call you Makoto?"

"Sure."

"What the hell was that fuckin name?" Mondo shakes his head, stunned. "Did I hear Rasputin?"

"I-"

"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" Monokuma interrupts Makoto as he pops up on the podium.

"Huh? A teddy bear?" Chihiro nervously looks up at the bear.

"I'm not a teddy bear! I...am...Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!"

Makoto rolls his eyes, annoyed. Would he really have to sit through all of this again? He glances back to the gym doors. Maybe he should just skip it all...

Making up his mind, Makoto quickly slips through Asahina and Mondo and runs through the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Monokuma's high pitched voice follows him, but Makoto doesn't care. He just wants to find something to do.

_I wonder what I should do this time..._

* * *

In the end, nothing really interesting happened. It was a completely normal loop, one that ended with Makoto being killed by one of his friends after Monokuma reveals the last motive.

_Boring..._

* * *

**The 320th Killing Game**

By this point, Makoto doesn't even feel the headache that comes with time traveling.

Or does he? Honestly, he felt way too numb to notice it if there is any pain. Perhaps he got so used to it, that he gained an immunity to headaches or something stupid like that.

Makoto abruptly jumps up from his chair and slams back downwards, breaking the chair into multiple pieces. Grabbing one of the chair legs, he rushes to the camera in the room and smacks it, cracking the lens.

After that, he runs out the hall and visits each and every unlocked room, breaking every camera in each one. He also takes care to break the cameras in the hallways as well.

Once he was finished, he quickly runs into the Main hall where his classmates were finishing up introductions.

"Huh? There's another one?" Leon glances up at Makoto, who was running at full speed towards them.

"Hey, wha- AH!" The baseball star shields his face with his hands as Makoto leaps directly at him. But instead of hitting him, Makoto just lands on his shoulders and jumps again, this time aiming at Mukuro, who was talking to Chihiro.

"Gotcha." Makoto smirks as he swipes Mukuro's wig off of her head before she could react.

"What the hell?!" Mukuro whirls around, groping at her head. "What jus-"

Mukuro is interrupted as she catches her wig. Makoto had just thrown it back at her.

"Thanks for the weapon." Makoto nods, holding a loaded pistol in his hands. He had dug it out of her wig.

Before anyone could even say anything, Makoto darts out of the room, leaving 14 stunned students behind.

Makoto had one single target in mind. He had been perfecting this route for the past six or so time loops. He had failed each time... but perhaps he would get it right now.

_"Figure it out. You apparently have all of eternity to try, don't you?"_

_Junko Enoshima, I'm coming for you!_


	36. Act 3, Chapter 8

Makoto rushes to the stairs before shooting at a specific joint near the gate. The lock immediately opens up and Makoto hastily runs up to do the same thing to the next set of stairs, breaking any cameras that he runs into.

But when Makoto reaches the 4th floor, he doubles back and throws his broken chair leg as hard as he can behind him. As soon as he does, Mukuro rounds the corner and is greeted with a hearty smack as the chair leg drives itself into her face.

"Ugh!" Mukuro falters and rubs her face.

_*BANG!*_

Makoto shoots her in the leg in order to prevent her from following him. Then he runs back to the data processing room and shoots the lock on the door, breaking it.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" A Monokuma pops up and raises his claws in the air.

Makoto doesn't bother to respond, instead grabbing it and tossing it at the Monokuma control room door.

_*BANG!*_

As soon as the Monokuma makes contact with the door, Makoto shoots it at the exact spot where the self destruction mechanism is located.

_*BOOM*_

The door explodes, and before the smoke even clears up, Makoto rushes in. Inside of the Monokuma room, he sees Junko, who was about to hide in the trapdoor below the floor.

"Oh, Makoto I-"

*_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*_

Her body jerks backwards as Makoto unloads the rest of his clip into her. Some of the bullets pierces fully through her, and others get caught in her organs. The monitors behind her get splattered with blood.

"Ah... Fuck that hurts." Junko gasps as she falls to her knees. Torrents of blood pour out of her numerous wounds, staining the floor.

Makoto jumps to his left. Not one second later, two spears shoot straight up into the space he had been occupying. He then promptly grabs one of the spears and throws it at Junko's face.

She flies backwards as the spear pierces her face, causing even more blood to spew out. Dropping to the floor, her body convulses as the last fragments of life leave her body.

Not wasting any time, Makoto takes the spear out of her body and throws it behind him without even looking. Yet again, Mukuro rounds the corner, gasping for breath. And just like how it was with the chair leg, the spear hits Mukuro in the face.

Of course, being hit by a spear is a lot more serious then being hit by a chair leg.

Mukuro drops down, dead.

Makoto had just murdered both Despair sisters in the span of a couple minutes.

Grinning, Makoto takes out a roll of tissues that he had grabbed when he passed by the kitchen and wipes the blood off of the monitors. Luckily, when he shot Junko, none of the bullets that went through her caused any major damage to the systems.

"Let's make this damn game a bit more interesting."

* * *

"Ahem, testing one two three. This is your new headmaster speaking! Please head to the gym for your entrance ceremony."

A high pitched voice comes from the PA system. The 13 students had just about finished introducing themselves when the announcement had just come on telling them to report to the gym.

"Huh. This is one weird ass entrance ceremony." Mondo scratches his face as he makes his way to the gym.

"Uhh... So, what happened with that ahoge kid and Junko?" Leon asks.

"Junko w-was wearing a wig... and she was hiding a gun underneath it!" Chihiro comments.

"I dunno what that was all about, but I guess we can ask them when they get to the gym." Mondo shrugs.

"I-I have a bad feeling about all of this..." Toko shoots everyone a suspicious glare, as if they were plotting something against her.

"Calm down dudes!" Hagakure laughs and crosses his arms. "This is Hope's Peak! Of course the ceremony's gonna be strange."

Meanwhile, Makoto is making preparations. Using Monokumas, he had cleaned up Mukuro and Junko's body and was currently making repairs for the gates and cameras he destroyed.

"Man, Junko has all sort of neat toys here..." Makoto glances at an instruction sheet that she had left behind. Apparently, she was prepared to hand over control to Mukuro temporarily and might have been planning to inject herself into the game as someone named Ryoko.

Whatever it was for, it was pretty convenient. Without it, he would have had to guessed for all of the controls.

_Guess I got pretty lucky... for once._

The combined workforce of around six Monokumas were enough to repair the cameras pretty quickly. These things were actually pretty useful for other things besides killing people.

"Ah, I guess everyone's here." Makoto glances to the gym camera and sees that everyone had assembled in the gym.

Taking a deep breath, Makoto turns on the mic.

"Hey guys! Since everyone's here, why don't I introduce myself?"

* * *

"Hey guys!" A high pitched and whimsical sounding voice comes from behind the podium. Everyone stops their conversation and turns to look at the podium. "Since everyone's here, why don't I introduce myself?"

_*boing*_

A cartoonish bouncing noise is played as Monokuma pops up and sits down on the podium. "I am Monokuma! The new headmaster at Hope's Peak Academy!"

"A teddy bear?" Chihiro asks nervously.

"I am not a teddy bear! I am Monokuma!"

"Wh-? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Yamada screeches and points at the bear.

"Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it." Ishimaru says reassuringly.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I am Monokuma! The new headmaster!"

"Wahh! It just moved!" Yamada backs away as far as possible from him.

"Seriously man, calm down! It's probably just a remote control toy or something."

_*BANG!*_

Everyone falls silent as Monokuma brings out a pistol and shoots down at the floor, hitting the floor next to Mondo.

...

"W-What the hell...?" Mondo's face quickly turns pale as he looks down at the bullet hole next to him.

"I will not tolerate disrespect in this fine establishment! I am Monokuma, not a toy. Do you understand?

...

_*BANG!*_

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Monokuma shouts, waving the gun around.

"God! Yes I fuckin get it so chill!" Mondo shouts.

"Good, good. Now, I have something to show you little students." Monokuma puts the gun away and claps his paws.

_*clap!*_

Suddenly, a body drops from the ceiling. There was a large hole in the middle of the face of this corpse, and blood was still pouring out of it.

It was Mukuro. Or as the others knew her, Junko.

_*splat*_

Her corpse falls on the floor, limbs bending at awkward angles. Blood spreads across the floor, producing an unpleasant odor. Mukuro's expression was quite literally unreadable - most of it was missing due to the wound on her face.

"What... WHAT THE HELL?!" Leon is the first to react as he grasps his hair in a frenzy.

"B.. Blood..." Toko's eyes roll up to the back of her head as she passes out.

Kyoko's eyes darken marginally as she looks away from the body.

"T-That was... That was Junko..." Chihiro's face quickly turns green as he looks away, putting his hands over his mouth. "I-I think I'm gonna vomit..."

"Puhuhuhu! This is how you kids should know that I really mean business. From now on, this place will be a battlefield, one that most of you wont survive!"

"Welcome to the Killing School Life at Hope's Peak Academy!"

* * *

***A/N* This arc will finish up the bad ending.**


	37. Act 3, Chapter 9

The 13 students participating in this killing game meet up in the cafeteria to discuss their options. Monokuma had dumped a truckload of information on them, and they needed to sort it out.

Firstly, Monokuma had informed them on their situation. A Killing Game where you will be forced to live here forever, until someone murders another person.

_"You guys will live here until the day you die! Isn't that fantastic?"_

_"__Wh-What did he just say? Until the day we d-die...?" Toko gasps, putting her hands over her chest._

_"Yeah! But there is one way to get out... If you murder someone, and get away with it, then you will be free to leave!"_

_"MURDER?! There will not be any murder in a school environment! Not on my watch!" Ishimaru roars._

_"Oh, shut it. Anyway, here are your student e-handbooks. There are the school regulations on it!" Monokuma hops down from the pedestal and hands each student their e-book. "Be careful to read them! If you break any of the rules, I'll just kill you myself!"_

_At this, several students paled. What kind of sick joke was this?_

Then, Monokuma had presented them with their motive.

Or rather, motives.

_"First of all, I have three surprises for you!" Monokuma bellows. "The first surprise are these tapes! Feel free to watch them in the AV room. They contain something that you will all want to see!"_

_Monokuma tosses several tapes on the floor, each one with a label on the fronts. The label contained the names of each student._

_As they scrambled to pick up their tapes, Monokuma rushes straight to the next 'surprise.'_

_"Next up, these envelopes! Each one contains your deepest darkest secret. If no one dies within the next 24 hours, I will reveal them to the world!" Monokuma throws the envelopes in the air, causing the students to panic even more as they run around trying to find their tapes and secrets._

_"And finally, I would like to present the first blood motive! The first one to kill someone... gets out scot free! You could shoot someone in the face RIGHT NOW, in front of everyone, and I would let you get out of here! Puhuhuhuhuhu!"_

"So first of all, I would like to suggest a new rule." Celeste is the first to start the conversation.

"A new rule?" Hagakure scratches his chin. "Whaddya mean?"

"It might be better for the safety of everyone if we were to agree on a curfew for night time. We would have to rely on the honor system, but it could go a long way to ensuring the safety of everyone."

Kyoko nods. "I'm fine with it. Does anyone have any objections?"

...

No one says anything.

"Okay. So, let's all agree to keep to our rooms during the night."

"That stupid bear!" Sayaka cries, trembling. "Why is he doing this?" Before meeting up in the cafeteria, everyone had gone to the AV room to watch their tapes. Just like every other time, Sayaka reacts the worst to her tape.

"Easy, Sayaka... Calm down." Asahina rubs her back soothingly. "Let's just get through this together, huh?"

"Right..." Sayaka takes a deep breath. "Together."

* * *

_*ding dong bing bong*_

"A body has been discovered! Everyone, please get to the cafeteria pronto!"

Right before the night time announcement, a body alert plays. The first day hadn't even passed, and someone had already resorted to murder. Makoto looks on in amusement his classmates scramble to the cafeteria.

This was certainty proving to be one of the more interesting loops that he's been in. Being able to control everything like this had given him a satisfactory sense of power - the lives of his classmates were resting solely on his hands. He could kill them all right now if he wanted to.

"Heh... Of course it's Sayaka who breaks first... It's always her..."

Meanwhile, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria and was surrounding a corpse that was placed in the middle of the room.

There, Asahina lay dead. A knife protrudes from her stomach as blood pours out of her wound.

"No... Who would dare do such a thing?!" Sakura gently lifts her body before glaring at everyone near her. "SPEAK UP!"

"Puhuhuhu! That's right! Will Asahina's murderer speak up? They will get out of here scot free, as promised!"

...

Sayaka slowly raises her hand. "I-It was me..."

"Sayaka?!" Leon, who had been standing next to her, backs up. "That's a joke, right?"

"Why... You were the closest to her! So why kill her?" Sakura takes a menacing step towards Sayaka.

"..." Instead of responding, Sayaka just looks down at the ground in guilt.

"Ah, the traitorous snake Sayaka... Come with me and I shall personally escort you out!" Monokuma waddles towards the cafeteria doors and motions with his hands. "By the way, if anyone follows us..."

Monokuma pulls out a 12 gauge shotgun and pumps it. "Expect some _brutal _punishment. Puhuhuhuhu!"

"Damn you..." Mondo growls but doesn't make a move.

"Well, Sayaka? Shall we get going?"

Hesitantly, Sayaka nods before following the monochrome bear.

* * *

_*clap clap clap*_

As Sayaka arrives at the main hall, she is greeted by Makoto clapping his hands. The giant locked door was wide open.

"M-Makoto?!"

"I knew from the very start that you would be the first to kill." Makoto offers her an emotionless grin. "Well, a deals a deal. Go on... to the outside world."

"You... You were controlling Monokuma?" Sayaka whispers. "You did those things on the tapes...? You killed Junko?"

"Does it matter?" Makoto tilts his head and widens his eyes slightly as he asks this. His posture, his expression... All of it reminded Sayaka of the Makoto she had taken interest in junior high.

He looked all too innocent... But behind that innocence...

"You're a murderer." Sayaka spits out. "I can't believe... I can't believe that you would do this..."

Makoto's innocent face morphs into a sadistic grin. "You're calling ME a murderer? AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAA!"

Makoto laughs insanely, tilting his head back. "Do you know how many times I've seen _you_ kill Leon?"

"H-Huh? I didn't kill Leon!" Sayaka protests.

"Oh, you're such a fucking bitch. Just get out of here before I change my mind and decide to kill you."

"Eep!" Sayaka jumps and scrambles to the exit before pausing.

It...

The outside world...

"What... What happened out here?" Sayaka whispers.

Suddenly she stumbles forwards as she feels someone shove her out of the building.

"What the-"

"See ya!" Makoto grins, pressing a button on some sort of remote.

"Wait!" Sayaka runs forwards, but it was too late. The door had already closed and was locked.

"No! Wait! Let me back in!" Sayaka screams, pounding on the door.

_Something's wrong._

_Why is the world like this? I can't live out here!_

Sayaka pounds on the door over and over again.

No one answers.

* * *

"Ahh, it hadn't even taken 24 hours before a murder happened! How nice." Monokuma giggles to himself.

As soon as Makoto had shown Sayaka out, he had gone back to the control room. It was a huge risk, leaving it unlocked. But apparently the threat of Monokuma's shotgun was enough to placate the students as no one had followed him.

Now, Monokuma had gone back to the cafeteria where the remaining students were still loitering around.

"Now, just a forewarning, any murderer will have to face a _class trial _if they decide to kill someone! Not only will you have to do the deed, you gotta fool everyone else!"

"ENOUGH!" Ishimaru shouts. "No one here will resort to murder! I guarantee you that!"

"Oh yeah? I wouldn't bet on that if I were you, because I'm gonna announce the next motive right here, right now!"

"What? A-Already?!" Chihiro cries.

"That's right! From now on, I will not be restocking the food in the cafeteria. Enjoy starving to death! Of course, I will restock the food once someone dies. But until then... Good luck! Puhuhuhuhuhuhu!"

Four motives, all in the same day. Each one more brutal then the previous. Makoto showed absolutely no mercy as he presented this outrageous motive to his classmates.

"What?! You can't be serious!" Mondo's face pales as he takes in this motive.

"How troublesome..." Celeste says, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Well, see you later! Happy killing! Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma lets out one more sickening laugh before disappearing from the room.

"Damn that fucking bear!" Mondo yells, slamming his fist down on the table. "This shit ain't fair!"

"Hmph. There's no doubt a murder will be occurring soon. I will be locking myself in my room. Do not even knock - I won't be answering." Byakuya scowls at the rest of the group before stalking off to his room.

"S-Same here... I already feel your murderous intent! You all want me dead, don't you!" Toko slowly backs up, pointing at various faces with accusation. "DON'T GET NEAR ME!"

Byakuya and Toko weren't the only ones who felt paranoid. Each and every student here looked at the other with distrust. With their own lives on the line, it wouldn't be unthinkable that someone would resort to murder again. In fact, it was practically guaranteed to happen.

It was all just a matter of when someone would strike.


	38. Act 3, Chapter 10

"Food... I... need food!" Yamada complains, putting his hands on his grumbling stomach.

Only a single day had passed since Monokuma's motive was announced, yet some people were already breaking. Specifically, Yamada, Leon, Chihiro, and Hagakure were the most affected.

"I suggest you try sleeping in order to conserve energy." Kyoko suggests. She had gone through a day without food, yet she seemed perfectly fine. She hasn't complained once.

Kyoko wasn't the only one who was dealing with the motive well. Some of the more stoic ones such as Celeste and Sakura haven't raised any complaints either.

"But I'm not sleepy..."

"Try anyway."

"I suggest that you try drinking some water. It can provide a small amount of relief." Celeste suggests.

"Huh, I didn't think of that." Chihiro comments.

_*ding dong bing bong*_

Suddenly, a Monokuma announcement is played. It wasn't time for the morning or night announcements, so what could this be? Did someone find a dead body?

"Oh! Perhaps Monokuma is showing us some mercy!" Yamada says hopefully.

"Hey, so I feel pretty bad for you kids. I mean, you guys are just sitting around, doing nothing! Must be boring, right? So, for the remainder of this motive, I'll play my favorite television program on the monitors, 24/7! Enjoy!"

"... Television program?"

The monitors cut to static before transitioning to a picture of pizza.

"Augh!" Yamada tosses his hands up in the air in frustration. "Seriously?!"

Ten seconds later, it slowly changes into a picture of a juicy steak.

"Man, this guy's an asshole." Leon grumbles, looking wistfully at the food. "This ain't even a tv channel, it's a slideshow!"

"I concur." Celeste says, nodding. "This is quite immature."

Kyoko rolls her eyes. "Just don't look at it. There isn't any volume anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Leon manages to tear his gaze away from the monitor. "I guess all we can do is wait..."

* * *

"Celeste?" Chihiro asks nervously. She had been walking to the infirmary when Celeste had walked out.

"Oh, Chihiro." Celeste gives her a small wave in a greeting. "Is there something you need?"

"N-No..." Chihiro rubs her arm. "I was bitten by a mosquito... I was thinking that there might be something in the infirmary that might help."

"A mosquito?" Celeste perks up slightly. "That means that there are other signs of life in this academy..."

Chihiro nods enthusiastically. "Right! That's what I was thinking!"

"Interesting... Perhaps I should investigate this matter."

"So, um... Are you okay?"

Celeste looks at her quizzically. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?"

"Well, you just walked out of the infirmary..."

"Oh, yes." Celeste pulls out a bottle of pills. "I was thinking that since we don't have food, perhaps I should look for nutritional supplements. I want to stay healthy after all."

"Oh! That's right..." Chihiro says. "You're so smart, Celeste!"

Celeste giggles. "Why, thank you. I wish you luck in finding medicine for your mosquito bite."

"Thanks!"

* * *

Two days have now passed, and as to be expected, complaints rose significantly.

"This hunger... it's overwhelming..." Ishimaru complains, draining a glass of water. He had been drinking glass after glass of water after hearing Celeste suggest it. She says that it can help him feel full, but all it really did was make him have to use the restroom a lot.

"Dude, how much have you drunk?" Mondo shakes his head, amazed. "I don't drink this much in a week."

"I need some way to cope with my hunger!"

Instead of drinking water, Mondo had just went about his usual routines without any adjustments. Sure, he felt hungry, but he read somewhere that someone could last a month without food. He figured if that was true, then he didn't have much to worry about.

Ishimaru chugged the last of his water before sighing and leaning back. "Hey bro, can you get me some more water? There's a package of bottles in the kitchen."

"Sure thing." Mondo nods.

_I feel kind of worried for bro... _Mondo thinks to himself while walking to the kitchen. _Isn't there something called water poisoning? _

But when Mondo arrives at the kitchen, he finds something unexpected.

"Wha... What the HELL?!"

It was food.

Piles and piles of food. There were mounds of food for every food group in existence, plus some sweets. "HEY! EVERYONE, COME HERE!" Mondo roars.

"What is it?!" Ishimaru comes scrambling in to the kitchen. "It isn't a dead body, is it?"

Mondo wordlessly motions at the food.

"What? There's... food!"

Grinning, Mondo grabs a burger and stuffs it down his mouth. "I'm gonna go tell everyone else! You can eat some stuff and regain your energy, bro."

"Yeah!" Ishimaru starts stuffing himself full, but soon, he realizes that if there was food, then someone had to have died.

"SUSTENANCE!"

Whirling around, Ishimaru sees Yamada charging in the room, mouth wide open.

_I should probably move some of this food to the dining hall so that the kitchen doesn't get overfilled._

Taking a bunch of random food in his hands, Ishimaru sidesteps Yamada and rushes to the dining hall where most of the students had already gathered.

"Aw, man! I've never been so happy to see a sandwich in my life." Hagakure happily snatches one from Ishimaru's hand and begins eating it.

"This means that one of us has died." Kyoko says grimly. She takes an apple anyway.

Ishimaru nods. "Right. Let's wait for our fellow classmates to gather. If one of them doesn't appear, I suppose that means one of us has died."

"MINE!" Leon runs up to Ishimaru and grabs a hot dog and begins stuffing it down his throat. "Aw man, that hits the spot."

The rest of the other students slowly begin filling in to the dining hall. As everyone settles down and has eaten their fill, Ishimaru claps his hands together and clears his throat.

"Who are we missing? We are definitely missing one person!"

"My white knight..." Toko looks around frantically. "W-WHERE IS MY WHITE KNIGHT?!"

Everyone else looks around as well. Sure enough, he was the only one who was not here.

"Was Mr. Togami murdered?" Yamada asks.

"NO! I REFUSE T-TO BELIEVE IT!" Toko gets up and runs towards the dorm rooms. "M-MASTER BYAKUYA! I'M COMING FOR YOU!"

Sakura rises. "I shall assist her."

"I will come as well." Kyoko says, trailing after Sakura and Toko.

"Didn't he say that he was going to lock himself in his room? How would someone kill him?" Leon wonders out loud.

* * *

"MASTER! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

When Sakura and Kyoko catch up to Toko, they find her banging on Byakuya's door.

Sakura moves next to her before knocking on the door. "Monokuma has provided us with food."

...

"Sakura, can you break open the door?" Kyoko asks.

Nodding, Sakura backs up before charging at the door.

_*BANG!*_

The door falls flat down, breaking off the wall as if it were made out of paper.

Right away, two things stick out. Firstly, several bottles of water are lined up next to the wall. Most of them were full, but some were empty.

Secondly, an unpleasant odor completely filled the room. It was the sour stench of vomit.

...

There, on his bed...

Byakua lay, dead. He actually looked peaceful. If it were not for the fact that there were puddles of vomit everywhere, one would think that he was just sleeping.

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"A body has been discovered! After a short investigation period, the class trial will commence. Everyone, please report to Byakuya's dorm!"_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Toko shrieks

That confirmed it for everyone.

Byakuya was dead.

* * *

***A/N* In response to Guest reviewer Rare, I would think Makoto would have a grudge against her after seeing her try to betray him a couple hundred times.**


	39. Act 3, Chapter 11

"Ah, here we are!"

Monokuma pops up in Byakuya's dorm as soon as everyone arrives. In his hands, he held a tower of tablets.

"I would like to present the Monokuma file! It contains some important details about the victim. Please, everyone take one!"

Wordlessly, everyone walks over to Monokuma and takes one.

Kyoko glances down at the tablet as she turns it on with interest. From what she could tell, it was likely that he was poisoned somehow.

_Victim: Byakuya Togami._

_Victim shows sign of poisoning. Time of death was around 4 at noon._

"That's all?" Kyoko mutters to herself. Similar protests erupt in the room.

"What the hell! This doesn't say shit!" Mondo scowls and tosses the file aside. "Give us some actual info!"

"Puhuhuhuhu! Go complain to someone who actually cares!" Monokuma guffaws before disappearing from the room.

"Damn it!"

Kyoko sighs and returns to her investigation. This will be the first class trial that they will go through... For some reason, Kyoko didn't feel nervous or anxious.

_I feel like that I'm used to investigating...?_

Kyoko grimaces as she is hit with a headache. Whenever she feels like that she might remember something, her head just starts pounding. It was getting real annoying.

Well, no use complaining about it now. She had a crime to solve.

* * *

Firstly, Kyoko decides to investigate the corpse. Even though it was covered in vomit, she still needed to look through his body... Perhaps there was some evidence left behind. It was her duty to check every possibility.

_My... duty?_

Kyoko pauses and puts her hand to her temples as a headache strikes her. She felt as if she was on the verge of remembering something... whatever it was though, it's gone.

Sighing, Kyoko tried to shake it off her mind. She needed to investigate this murder... There should not be any distractions.

...

...

...

"Oh?"

Kyoko finds something clasped in Byakuya's hand.

It was a flash drive. One red lightning shaped scar runs through it, resembling Monokuma's eye.

_This seems_ _important..._

* * *

Kyoko gathers the empty and partially opened water bottles and begins smelling each one.

_Not that one..._

_Not that one..._

_Not that one..._

_Oh?_

Kyoko observes the 4th bottle with interest. It was about 3/4th full.

...

_Yup. Someone dumped chloroform into this bottle._

Just to make sure, she dips her gloved finger into the bottle and then brings it to her lip. She is rewarded with a slightly sweet taste.

_Well, that's how he died..._

* * *

Kyoko walks over to Toko, who had been sitting in the corner with her head burrowed inside of her arms.

"... Toko?"

"..."

"Toko."

"W-What...? Come here to spit on me? Tell me how pathetic I am?" Toko looks up and glares weakly at Kyoko.

"Just one question... When was the last time you've seen Byakuya?"

"..."

"..."

"I saw him go inside of his room with some bottle of water just before 3..."

Kyoko raises a brow. "He went outside of his room?"

Toko nods wordlessly.

"I see... Thank you, Toko."

As Kyoko finishes up, she sees Chihiro go over to Byakuya's body. To her surprise, Chihiro starts searching his body. It never occurred to her that Chihiro would be one to go through such depths...

After a couple of minutes, she sees Chihiro sigh in disappointed before moving away from the body. From the looks of it, she apprently didn't find anything noteworthy.

* * *

_Let's see here..._

Kyoko was in the infirmary room - if she was correct about the poison used to kill Byakuya, then there should be a bottle of chloroform that showed signs of being used. Either that, or it was missing entirely.

_Rubbing Alcohol... half empty._

_Sunscreen... still sealed._

_Boxes of bandages... only one is opened._

_Calamine Lotion... still sealed._

_A box with an Epi-pen... still sealed._

_Bottle of aspirin... half empty._

She listed off various supplies in her heads. Everything was there, except for two things. A bottle of vitamins, and a bottle of chloroform. She had done a supply count after the first murder, so she knew everything that _should _be here. She had it committed to memory.

And yet, there were items missing...

* * *

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Sooo, I'm getting bored. With that said, get to the elevator room! It's time for the first trial to commence! Puhuhuhu!"_

It had been barely 25 minutes... And Monokuma was already calling them down?

Kyoko sighs and begins to make her way to the elevator room. This mastermind certainly shows little mercy. She had almost no time to investigate, only gathering a few pieces of evidence... The rest she would have to deduct from the testimonies of others.

She was near the elevator room so she got there before anyone else... Well, there was actually one person already there.

Toko.

She was in a stupor, standing the corner. She didn't even look at Kyoko as she entered the room. She had been like this ever since Byakuya died.

_Hopefully she doesn't stay like this for the rest of the killing game..._

One by one, the rest of the students file in the room. They were downcast, muttering to themselves. And who could blame them? Monokuma had forced outrageously brutal motives down their throats, not giving them any breaks at all.

Now they had to go through this class trial... and right after that, another motive was probably waiting for them.

It was all almost too much.

* * *

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... then I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"Oh and by the way, since I'm such a _loving _headmaster, I shall be giving you hints at the start of each trial!"

"Loving?! That's bullshit!" Leon protests.

"No it isn't! I truly care for each and every one of you... Anyway, this hint is that the murderer in this case is a traitor!"

"Traitor?" Sakura echoes.

"Yup! This person is distinctly different from everyone else here. Well, good luck!"

"One question." Kyoko says.

"Huhhh?" Monokuma tilts his head as he stares at Kyoko.

"What's with those pictures?" Kyoko points at several portraits with red X's going over them. They were pictures of Sayaka, Asahina, Byakuya, and Mukuro (as Junko).

"Oh! Well, I'd feel bad if they were left out just because they aren't here anymore. Friendship penetrates all barriers!"

"Penetrates, you say...?" Yamada perks up noticeably.

"Well, what about the empty seats?" Celeste gestures to the two empty seats that had neither a person or a portrait. These two seats belonged to Junko and Makoto... but for obvious reasons, he couldn't just reveal this.

"There were only 14 of us to begin with, so why are there 16?"

"Uh, actually..." Leon raises his hand. "I saw a 15th student."

Several people turned to stare at him.

"What? Where?! When?! Why didn't you say this earlier?!" Ishimaru demands.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, it just kind of slipped my mind! Chihiro saw him too..." Leon rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh yeah!' Chihiro perks up. "I-It was back when we just woke up... Someone jumped on Leon and then stole Junko's wig."

"Junko wears a wig?" Yamada asks.

"I guess so..."

"What did this 15th student look like?" Kyoko asks.

"Uh, I don't really know actually. He jumped right at my face so I didn't get a good look at him."

"Did you see him?" Kyoko turns her attention to Chihiro.

"I didn't really pay attention, but he looked kind of average."

"Average?" Kyoko questions.

"Y-Yeah, he was kind of short but he had an ahoge and brown hair. I don't even remember his face... sorry." Chihiro looks down sadly.

"That's fine." Kyoko says reassuringly. "We can talk about this after the class trial."

"So, uh... what do we talk about?" Yamada asks.

"First off, I would like to establish the method of murder." Kyoko announces.

"The Monokuma file says that Byakuya had been poisoned." Celeste comments.

Kyoko nods. "Yes, but I would like to specify. One of the opened bottles in his room had traces of chloroform in it. In high dosages, it would certainly be enough to kill."

"Wouldn't he notice if there was a bunch of chemicals in his water?" Mondo points out.

"Chloroform has an extremely weak smell. If you weren't expecting it, you might not even notice until you were too late."

"How did you know that he was poisoned with chloroform then?"

"I smelled each open bottle until I found one that seemed slightly different... then, I took a small taste to confirm it."

"YOU TASTED POISON?!"

Kyoko frowns as Mondo shouts at him. What was the big deal? It's not like she took a fatal dose or anything. "Only a bit. It tasted slightly sweet, which lines up with chloroform."

"Where the hell would someone get poison from though?" Leon asks.

"There was a bottle of chloroform missing from the infirmary."

"The infirmary?" Chihiro's face lights up. "Um, I saw Celeste go to the infirmary before we found Byakuya's body."

Instantly, everyone turns to look at Celeste.

"I had just visited it to grab a bottle of vitamins... Being deprived of nutrition can be dangerous to your health after all."

"Likely excuse!" Hagakure shouts. "You're the killer! Case closed!"

"Did... Did you kill my w-white knight?!"

"Wait a minute..." Ishimaru raises his hand. "Wasn't Celeste advising others to drink a lot of water?"

"I was, but-"

"Well, that was easy!" Leon laughs. "You're the killer!"

"Excuse me, but why would I target Byakuya?" Celeste asks. "And how would I in the first place? He was cooped up in his room the entire time."

Kyoko shakes her head. "According to Toko, Byakuya had actually left his room. He had been stockpiling bottles of water."

"That doesn't answer why you would think that I chose to target him."

_I suppose that's right..._

"Oh! That reminds me!" Hagakure snaps his fingers. "I saw Byakuya in the kitchen. He was bringing armfuls of bottles back to his room. He took so many that he had to do two trips.

"Did you see me there?" Celeste asks calmly.

"Well, no... The only other people I saw there was Chihiro and Toko."

"So I did not have an opportunity to try and kill Byakuya."

"Perhaps you had no target in mind? You had been advising several people to drink water... So what if you poisoned a single bottle and just decided to let fate choose your target?" Sakura suggests.

"I can assure you, I didn't poison anything."

"Bullshit!" Mondo yells. "You were the only one who had the opportunity to poison him!"

"I was not the only one who visited the infirmary... Chihiro had too."

"H-Huh? Me?"

"Hey!" Mondo shouts. "Don't try to pawn this off on her!"

"She said that she received a mosquito bite and that she wanted to find something for it... Doesn't that seem suspicious? There are no other signs of life in this school."

"B-But it's true!" Chihiro protests, lifting up her sleeve. "See?"

Sure enough, there was a red inflamed bump on her arm.

"Yeah, stop lying!" Mondo slams down on his podium angrily. "Don't try to frame Chihiro!"

"To be honest, I can't imagine Chihiro trying to kill anyone." Leon admits.

"Yeah!" Hagakure nods vigorously. "She's way to shy to do anything like that."

"Chihiro, you wanted to find something to treat your bite?" Kyoko asks.

"Y-Yeah. I found some lotion in the infirmary. "

"That's pretty interesting... considering that the lotion was still sealed."

"H-Huh?! Oh, yeah... I just forgot."

"You forgot...?"

Chihiro's face slowly turns red. "Yeah! I guess the murder just messed with my mind a bit."

"You are a terrible liar, my dear." Celeste says coldly. "According to Hagakure's testimony, you were in the kitchen when Byakuya was making his round trips."

"W-Well yeah, but why would I want to kill Byakuya?" Chihiro shakes her head. "Sure, he could be mean... but I would never want to kill him!"

"Monokuma mentioned that the person working for him was a traitor... Perhaps you were _forced _to kill him?" Celeste ponders.

"I'm not a t-traitor!"

Suddenly, something flashes in Kyoko's mind.

_The flashdrive..._

"Chihiro, I noticed you were searching Byakuya's corpse... That struck me as very out of character for you." Kyoko says.

"W-Well, I just wanted to find some evidence to be useful!" Chihiro had started to sweat bullets. "Why does that matter?"

"I searched his body first... and found this." Kyoko holds up the flashdrive she found. "Were you looking for this?"

"Oh! Give it to me!" Chihiro shouts.

Then, she instantly puts her hands over her mouth.

...

"Well, there's a motive... you also had the means to commit this crime... and several of your statements remain contradictory." Celeste smiles sweetly. "Lastly, you even tried to frame me for this crime... how disappointing."

"N-No, I..."

"This is insane..." Mondo stares at Chihiro in shock. "Did this chick really murder someone?!"

Kyoko takes a deep breath. "I would like to summarize what might have happened here."

"When Monokuma announced the motive, Byakuya immediately announces that he would lock himself in his room. This was to dissuade anyone from murdering him. However, he went out of his room at some point today, apparently to get some water bottles. For some reason, the murderer had been working for the mastermind... So when Byakuya was seen coming out of his room, the mastermind commanded the culprit to murder him. This is because he had something that the Monokuma wanted... this flash drive. As Hagakure said, Byakuya had to make two trips to bring all of the bottles to his room. So the culprit quickly went to the infirmary, running into Celeste on the way. She used an excuse to evade her and then stole the bottle of chloroform. She then doubled back to the kitchen to poison one of the bottles. From there, the murderer just waited for Byakuya to drink the poisoned bottle..."

"Isn't that right, Chihiro Fujisaki?"

* * *

***A/N* Don't worry, Chihiro's traitorous acts will be explained.**


	40. Act 3, Chapter 12

Makoto watches this class trial with heightened interest.

_So, since I'm not around to do all of the work for her, Kyoko acts more assertive... _

Throughout all of his class trials, Kyoko had always used him as a speaker. He had always assumed that she had done this because he was a better figure to inspire 'Hope' in others...

But he knew better now.

Kyoko was only using him to present the evidence because it would be dangerous for _her _to do it. Acting all smart-like by solving each case would make her a giant target.

So basically, Kyoko made Makoto a target to save her own ass.

Not that it was surprising. She had lied to everyone in the last class trial and let Makoto take the fall. She didn't even raise any objections when he was sent off to be fucking executed.

Well, he wasn't in this game now. So poor Kyoko had to risk her own life while saving everyone else's.

_"Chihiro, I noticed you were searching Byakuya's corpse... That struck me as very out of character for you." Kyoko says._

_"W-Well, I just wanted to find some evidence to be useful!" Chihiro had started to sweat bullets. "Why does that matter?"_

_"I searched his body first... and found this." Kyoko holds up the flashdrive she found. "Were you looking for this?"_

_"Oh! Give it to me!" Chihiro shouts._

"Ah, ya fucking idiot Chihiro." Makoto scowls as she sees Kyoko pull out the flashdrive. "Oh well, nothing super important was on it..."

The flashdrive actually came from Mukuro's corpse. He had neglected to check her body when he threw her corpse onto the gym floor. So it ended up bouncing out of her pocket and onto the floor... He didn't even notice that Byakuya picked it up until it was too late.

As for the contents, it was just Mukuro's 'script'. She was intended to pose as Junko until Monokuma explained the class trial. Then, she was to rebel against Monokuma and then be ejected out of the game. Though Junko ended up killing her instead...

Now that he thought about it, it might be more interesting if Kyoko ended up seeing that Junko was fake...

She would naturally come to the conclusion that Junko had faked her death and was the real mastermind...

"Heh." Makoto lets out a small chuckle when he imagines Kyoko's dumbstruck face. They had talked about this '15th student' a bit, but that doesn't worry him much. They would probably lean more towards Junko being the mastermind, as she has more of a character then Makoto. I mean, they didn't even know his name or what he looks like. Just that he had an ahoge and looked average.

_Hm... Maybe I should risked it and tried to erased his memory of seeing me..._

Makoto glances next to him. There, a bunch of complicated machinery lay. He had actually figured it out the basics pretty easily. Essentially, all of it had to do with manipulating memories. He had already figured out how to use the flashback lights, but he was having trouble with the part about deleting memories.

"Ah, well you win some and you lose some." Makoto shrugs and turns his gaze back to the monitors where he continued to observe the trial with interest. Kyoko had gotten to the part where she summarizes the whole case in front of the culprit...

In almost the exact same way he had used to.

"Funny how that works..."

* * *

...

"O-Okay..." Chihiro sniffs. "I admit it."

"What the fuck?! Chihiro, why?!" Mondo shouts.

"Such a petite beauty... but underneath, a cold murderer lies in wait?!" Yamada gasps.

"Kyoko got most of it right... except that I'm really not working for the mastermind! I swear!"

Celeste sighs in relief. "I'm glad that I was able to prove my innocence."

"Then why were you going after this flashdrive?" Kyoko holds it up. "It certainly looks like something the mastermind would need."

Chihiro shakes her head vigirously. "I-It has something super important in it! I needed to get it back from Byakuya... no matter what."

Kyoko looks down at the flashdrive.

_What kind of stuff would be so important that someone like Chihiro would kill for it?_

"I don't understand... why didn't you just ask Byakuya for it?" Ishimaru asks.

"I mean... it's Byakuya." Chihiro answers simply.

"You coulda just asked me for help!" Mondo yells, pounding his fists together. "I could have taken it back from him for you!"

Chihiro shakes her head again. "No! No matter what, only I could know about it... but I guess it doesn't matter know that K-Kyoko showed it to everyone..."

"What's in that thing anyway?" Hagakure asks.

"Something really, really important!"

Hagakure scratches his head. "Like what?"

The petite programmer stars fidgeting nervously. "Um... I don't... I don't r-remember?"

...

"Huh?" Hagakure blinks, confused.

"That doesn't make sense." Kyoko comments. "If it's so important, why don't you remember whats in it?"

"HEY!" Monokuma shouts abruptly. "If you guys know who the culprit is, can we just get to voting already?! Explain this stuff AFTER the voting!"

"Fine." Kyoko says simply. "How do we vote?"

"Puhuhu! Just pull the lever in front of you and select one of your classmates! After everyone votes, I shall announce the verdict!"

...

...

...

"Alright, please direct your attention to the monitors!" Monokuma says giddily.

There, the usual graphic of a slot machine played. It spinned and spinned until all three slots finally land on Chihiro's face. Monokuma coins spew everywhere as the word 'GUILTY' flashes on and off. Makoto had seen this animation hundreds and hundreds of times. So did everyone else - they just can't remember it.

"Yup yup!" Monokuma says. "Chihiro was the one who poisoned poor Byakuya!"

"... Chihiro, how did you know that this thing is so important?" Kyoko asks.

"I... I don't know!" Chihiro cries. "I just had this really strong feeling that it was."

"That doesn't make any fuckin sense!" Mondo exclaims.

"It doesn't need to!" Monokuma interjects. "She was the traitor, and she was working for me!"

"N-No! I would never work for you!"

Monokuma leans down, grinning evilly. "Are you surrrrrrre about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Puhuhuhu! You _are _working for me, it's just that you don't know it!"

Everyone stares at Monokuma in confusion. What did he mean by that?

Monokuma brings out a flashlight out of thin air. "I would like to present a neat little gadget called the flashback light!"

"F-Flashback light?" Chihiro echoes.

"Well with a single flash of this light, I can put a bunch of memories in your brain! Doesn't even mater if it's true or not."

Chihiro's face pales considerably. 'W-Wait a minute..."

"Puhuhuhu! That's right! I planted a memory in your head! That's why you thought this flashdrive was so important!"

"WHAT?! THAT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Mondo shouts. "YOU MADE HER KILL SOMEONE!"

"Oh? I just planted the memory of this flashdrive being important into Chihiro's head! She was the person who decided to kill!" Monokuma's eye flashes brightly. "Call it a secondary motive, if you will."

"Th-That's not fair!" Ishimaru's face turns blue. "That's not fair at all!"

Celeste nods in agreement. "I must agree with that."

"That's right. I'm glad you finally realized." Monokuma's voice suddenly flats out. The usual cheery and wacky voice vanishes completely.

Kyoko's eyes widens considerably as this happens._ Could this be the voice of the mastermind?_

The voice was almost horribly monotone. She could hear not a single ounce of emotion in it...

"This game is not fair. And It won't _be _fair. I hope you will come to accept this soon."

Despite his voice being completely non-threatening, Kyoko felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Judging from the expressions coming from the other students, they felt the same way.

...

"Well then!" Monokuma's voice returns back to normal. "Let's get to the execution, shall we!"

Chihiro starts crying harder. "B-But you-"

"No butts!" Monokuma wags his paw. "Remember, this game isn't meant to be fair! So send your complaints elsewhere!"

"You gotta be kidding me." Leon scowls darkly.

"Let's give it everything we've got!"

"Please... no!" Chihiro starts trembling.

"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

* * *

**Execution Prototype #17  
**

Chains wrap around Chihiro's limbs and pulls her up into the air. On top of that, a gag is forcefully shoved into her mouth. Though instead of being transferred to a separate room, she remains suspended above the trial grounds.

...

...

* * *

A minute passes.

Three minutes pass.

...

Nothing happens.

"What's going on?" Hagakure asks. "Did Monokuma's execution break or something?"

"Puhuhuhu... PUHUHUHUHUHU! You misunderstand! This _is _the execution!"

...

"Can you elaborate?" Kyoko asks.

"Chihiro will stay up there, bound by chains... forever."

Kyoko is caught off guard by this. "Forever?"

"Yup! She will stay up there with no food, no water, nothing!"

"WHAAAAAT?!" Yamada screeches. "That's an extremely harsh punishment!"

Sakura nods. "This is cruel and unusual... even for Monokuma."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mondo glances up with a desperate look in his eyes. "Get her down from there!"

"No."

"WHAT?!"

"Go on, out! The trial is over, you hear?! Unless you want to join her up there, get on the elevator!"

"Hell no! I ain't leaving her here!" Mondo gives a deathly glare at the monochrome bear.

"That's right!" Ishimaru nods. "We won't abandon her!"

Slowly, two gatling guns rise from Monokuma's chair. They start spinning as Monokuma aims them at them. "Sorry, I didn't hear you. Wanna say that again?"

"Grrr... You fuckin asshole!" Mondo shouts.

Leon runs forward and pulls them back from the gatling gun's line of sight. "Look, it won't do Chihiro any favors if you just get shot to bits. Let's get outta here, alright?"

"What?! You would abandon a fellow classmate?!" Ishimaru turns around and glares at him.

"No, I'm just saying that you shouldn't kill yourselves!"

**"Kill ourselves?!" **Mondo and Ishimaru both shout in unison.

Kyoko nods. "Leon is right. If you stay here, you'll just get killed. What good will that do?"

...

"Fine..." Mondo reluctantly surrenders.

"..." Ishimaru just shakes off Leon's hand and stalks off to the elevator.

"Yeah, GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" Monokuma screeches. "30 seconds before I start shooting!"

"Alright alright!" Mondo shouts. "Cool your jets!"

"Puhuhuhu... I wonder how long little Chihiro will last? I look forward to finding out! Puhuhuhuhu!"

Monokuma's cackling laughter fills the trial room as all of the students file into the elevator room. All of the students except for one, that is.

"..." Toko, who had not uttered a single word throughout the entire trial, simply looks down.

"Hey, should someone go get Toko?" Leon looks around.

Celeste sighs in resignation. "I shall drag her here."

But before Celeste could take a single step...

_*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG*_

Toko is torn into shreds right before their very eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Leon screams.

"What the hell just happened?!" Mondo's eyes bug out as he watches Toko's corpse slowly fall on the floor.

She was completely unrecognizable. Bits of blood and scraps of cloth are thrown everywhere as she is eviscerated by a hail of bullets.

_*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG*_

_..._

Finally, Monokuma stops shooting. Smoke rises from his gatling guns as they cool down.

"30 seconds were over. Too bad!" Monokuma giggles as he pulls a lever. At that moment, the elevator starts up.

"BWAGH!" Leon turns away from the group and promptly vomits onto the floor. "FUCK!"

Even the more calm students such as Celeste and Sakura were noticeably pale. But who could blame them?

"Oh, and expect another motive by tomorrow. Are you excited? Puhuhuhuhu!"

Collective groans come from the students as they slowly rise back up to the school.

Kyoko couldn't help but grimace as Monokuma says this.

_Just how far will this mastermind go to see us suffer...?_


	41. Act 3, Chapter 13

"Let's see here..." Kyoko mumbles to herself.

She was currently in the AV room. Though it was in the middle of the night, she was out of her dorms anyway. This was important, and she wasn't going to let an unmandatory curfew keep her away from this mystery.

Inserting the flashdrive into one of the computers, she prepares herself to examine the contents as fast as possible. At any point, Monokuma could come waltzing in and find her looking at the contents of this flashdri-

"Hey, whatcha looking at?"

Kyoko jumps up in her seat, startled. Whirling around, she sees...

A short boy?

He looked pretty average, sporting a green hoodie and an ahoge. He was short and seemed to lack any distinctive features... except for his eyes.

His eyes looked extremely dull... though there was a hint of brightness in it. Though his face remained neutral, his eyes made him looked like someone who had their spirits crushed over and over again.

Suddenly, Kyoko flashes back to the class trial.

_"Y-Yeah, he was kind of short but he had an ahoge and brown hair. I don't even remember his face... sorry." Chihiro looks down sadly._

"Hey, it's not nice to ignore others you know." The boy starts shuffling towards her, gripping something in his hands.

Upon closer inspection, Kyoko sees what he was holding... a small pocket knife.

"Are you the mastermind?" Kyoko asks.

"Oh? Is that what you think?" The boy laughs without any emotion.

Suddenly, he lunges at Kyoko, kicking off the floor.

"!"

Instinctively, Kyoko holds her hands up to her face to shield herself from the attacker

...

...

But when nothing happens, she slowly looks back up. The mastermind had taken her seat and was looking at the monitor with keen interest.

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asks.

"Just looking. Why, is this stuff private?" The boy turns to her with a wide eyed look.

"..." Kyoko was speechless. Was this guy really the mastermind? What the hell was he doing?

"I just said that ignoring others is rude..." The boy sighs in disappointment. "Anyway, my name is Makoto Naegi. What's yours?"

"... Kyoko Kirigiri." Kyoko responds cautiously.

"Nice to meet you Kyoko!" Makoto enthusiastically takes her hand and shakes it. "Are you going to act in a play soon?"

"Huh?"

_What kind of question is that?_

"Well, you were reading this script right?" Makoto glances back at the screen.

_Script?_ Kyoko thinks.

She takes a look at the screen - sure enough, there seemed to be some sort of script on there.

_MK - Okay, let me just add the rule I just described to your handbook. Make sure to keep it in mind!_

_JE - W-Wait, hold on a second!_

_ JE - You're freaking insane, you know that!? _

_MK - Hmm? JE - A class trial? What the hell is that!? _

_JE - I don't want anything to do with it!_

_ MK - Why not? JE - Whaddya mean why not!? _

_JE - Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!?_

_ MK - What!? Are you saying you're not gonna participate in the trial!? Only punishment awaits such blasphemy! _

_JE - What? Punishment!? _

_MK - I might... I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something!_

_ JE - Shut the hell up! Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!_

_ MK - Don't be so selfish!_

_ JE - You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me! _

_MK - The evil standing before me... I'm trembling with fear...! _

_MK - But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! _

_MK - If you really wanna get out of here... _

_MK - ...you'll have to go through me first! _

_[Here Mukuro, you kick Monokuma down and then put a foot on top of him]_

_ MK - Gyumeh!_

_ JE - Are you enjoying yourself now?_

_MK - That's it... I'm throwing you into a prison!_

_JE - Huh?_

_[Trapdoor opens up and you get ejected from the game :)]_

As Kyoko reads this, her mind starts connecting the dots.

_JE... Could that be Junko Enoshima? And MK... Monokuma. This really is a script!_

"What... What is this?" She mutters.

Junko Enoshima was dead... whatever this script was depicting, it clearly didn't happen. In fact, nothing like this had taken place within the Killing Game.

On top of all of that, who was Mukuro? The script depicts Junko and Monokuma, but there were notes addressing someone named Mukuro...

"Chihiro said that Junko had a wig..." Kyoko's eyes widen slightly. Could Junko have been an imposter?

"Heh, yeah. I took her wig off and stole her gun!" Makoto winks and takes out a pistol. "Isn't this neat?"

Kyoko had started to feel a foreboding sense of uneasiness. Makoto was acting carefree and innocent... all of his gestures and speaking mannerisms made him out to be like a small kid...

But again, his eyes... They told a completely different tale. The unlikely combination of his eyes and the rest of his face and mannerisms disturbed her. Whoever this person was, Kyoko felt the need to keep her guard up.

"May I see it?" Kyoko asks.

"Sure thing! Just don't try to shoot me, heh." Makoto gives her a smile and hands over the pistol.

Kyoko takes the gun from his hands and carefully examines it. Sure enough, it was a real gun - fully loaded too.

"You must be pretty trusting if you're this willing to hand over a loaded gun to me." Kyoko comments.

"Oh yes, I'm way too trusting." Makoto nods energetically. "I've nearly died hundreds of times because of my trust! Alas, I can't help it."

"Makoto, I have a question for you..." Kyoko starts. "Do you know who the mastermind is?"

"Huh?" Makoto stares at her incredulously. "Didn't you just ask me a couple of minutes ago if _I _were the mastermind?"

"... Are you?"

"Yeah."

...

For once in her life, Kyoko's mind starts moving sluggishly. "W-What?"

"Yeah, I was controlling Monokuma." Makoto says nonchalantly.

Kyoko instantly pulls the gun up and trains it on him. "..."

"Hey if you kill me, you gotta face a class trial you know." Makoto tilts his head mockingly. "Not that you would be capable of doing that."

"Name one reason why I shouldn't shoot you right here." Kyoko demands. Despite having the clear upper hand, (Makoto was sitting down and only had a pocket knife while Kyoko was training a gun on him and was a full meter away.) she felt uneasy. Why was the mastermind being so calm?

"Well, that would ruin this game!" Makoto swivels in his chair. "Besides, if you attack me, I might need to kill you! In self defense of course."

Kyoko's left eye twitches.

_The nerve of this guy... He is responsible for the deaths of several people... and yet, he still treats all of this as a game._

"Here's what will happen." Kyoko says calmly. "You will come with me. I will restrain you. Then, you will let all of us out of he-"

Kyoko's head flies back as she feels something hit her. _Hard._

She crumples to the floor, still reeling from the impact.

"What... just happened?"

"Oh, I punched you. Didn't you catch that?"

_... I didn't even see him move... How could he hit me so quickly?_

"I'll take that silence as a negative. Here, perhaps you'll be more perceptive this time."

"Ugh!" Kyoko grunts as Makoto strikes her in the face again.

and again.

and again.

and again.

and again.

and again.

...

...

...

By the end of it all, Kyoko's face was covered in blood. Several spots were swollen, and she had passed out a few minutes ago. Despite that, Makoto kept punching her.

_One punch for every damned time... Every damn time you let me get executed._

When he was done, Makoto's head felt unnaturally clear. He let out quite a lot of steam doing this.

Makoto bends over to pick up the unconscious Kyoko, face expressionless. "Let's go, Kyoko. You'll help me make this Killing Game less _boring_."

* * *

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day! Oh, and by the way... everyone, report to the gym, pronto!"_

* * *

"What does that fucking bear have for us now...?" Leon yawns as he stretches his arms. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night... his mind was stuck on Toko and Chihiro's executions.

"Whatever it is, I do not look forward to it." Sakura comments.

"Has anyone seen Kyoko?" Celeste asks. "She has not arrived to the gym yet."

"Don't tell me..." Yamada quickly pales. "We have another murder already?!"

"Calm down dude." Mondo pats the otaku on the back. "No fuckin way anyone would kill... I mean, Monokuma hasn't even showed us a motive yet."

"Dude, I'm so bummed..." Hagakure groans. "We have to face _another _motive..."

"We must keep our spirits high!" Ishimaru shouts. "Let's stand strong against that bear!"

"But besides Kyoko, this is all there is!" The clairvoyant gestures around him. "We're at like, half our numbers!"

"Puhuhuhu! Are you sure about that?"

Monokuma pops up from the floor. At the same time, a large object covered in a tarp falls from the ceiling.

_*crash!*_

"Woah!" Leon stumbles backwards. "What the hell is that?"

"Why, your new motive of course!" Monokuma holds up a rope. "I'm going to pull the tarp away! Are you ready to see your new incentive?"

"Not really." Mondo comments.

"Too bad! Here we go! Puhuhuhuhu!"

With a sickening laugh, Monokuma pulls the tarp away, revealing a large cage.

And in this cage...

Chihiro and Kyoko were tied up together... Both of them were bleeding from various wounds. Chihiro had a large gash on her cheek as well as a few shallow cuts across her hands. Kyoko's face was horribly bruised and swollen. Near her hairline, there was a lengthy cut.

Both of them were tightly tied up with several layers of rope and had gags in their mouths. Right next to them, there were several pale rectangles, almost like bricks.

"W-What the hell?" Leon whispers.

"Chihiro!" Mondo runs up to the cage and rattles it. "Are you alright?!"

Slowly, she nods.

"What the fuck is this about?!" Mondo whirls around to face Monokuma.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Chihiro and Kyoko... Why the hell are they both here and beat up?!"

"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma cackles. "I just picked these two for the next motive! Before I put them in the cage though, I just ruffled them up a little to ease my boredom. Don't worry, nothing is fatal."

"You..." Mondo grits his teeth. "You BITCH!"

"Oh, and you see those things next to their feet? They're explosives."

...

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"Nope!" Monokuma holds up a remote. "This is the detonator! If none of you kids commits murder against someone else within 24 hours, you can say goodbye to both of these girls!"

"Why..." Mondo slams on the cage. "DAMN IT!"

"Why?" Monokuma puts a paw on his chin. "Well, it would be kind of boring to let Chihiro die slowly like that... and it wouldn't be fun if Kyoko solved every single case by herself either! So, I've just decided to make things more interesting!"

"To use the lives of our classmates as a motive..." Sakura glares at Monokuma. "It is unforgivable!"

"What makes you think that I want forgiveness?" Monokuma scoffs.

"This is insane!" Ishimaru protests.

"Puhuhuhu..." Monokuma brings out a large digital clock. "This clock has a stopwatch function. Once I press this button, the timer will start!"

"W-Wait!" Yamada protests. "W-Won't we be caught up in the explosion as well?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. The explosives aren't _that _strong."

"God... God damn it!" Mondo backs away from the cage, eyes filled with rage. "I swear, once we find who's controlling this bear.. I'll fuckin smack the shit out of them!"

"Puhuhuhu! Good luck with that! Without further ado, the timer starts..."

Monokuma slams his paw down on the digital clock.

"Now!"

* * *

***A/N* In response to reviewer Rindou, the good ending will be written after this killing game is wrapped up.**


	42. Act 3, Chapter 14

"Hey, Sakura."

Mondo approaches Sakura as they leave the gym. His jaw was tightly clenched.

"Yes?"

"... I dunno if it would be a stupid idea or not, but can we break them out of there?"

"..."

"If we can take the detonator from Monokuma and somehow open the cage... then we might be able to use the explosives to bust outta here, you get me?"

"Monokuma mentioned that the explosives were not that powerful." Sakura responds. "I'm not sure that they would be enough to break through the walls or main door."

"Still though... we can't just stand here and do nothing!" Mondo scowls at the floor. "Chihiro's life is in danger!

"... I would be willing to try an assault against Monokuma." Sakura says.

"R-Really?!" Mondo snaps his gaze back at Sakura.

"This Killing Game has gone on for far enough... Let's steal that detonator from him and force him to open the door for us."

"Yeah!" Mondo punches his fists together. "When do we do this?!"

"Let's do it just before the deadline, tomorrow." Sakura nods in determination. "That way, it would be likely that Monokuma will be carrying the detonator."

"If we don't do this, then Monokuma will just kill more of us off..." Mondo comments.

"I will tell the others about this as to ensure that they don't do anything hasty."

Mondo grins. "Good idea. Let's get ready to pummel this frickin bear into submission!"

Unbeknownst to them however, Makoto had clearly heard every single word they said.

"Idiots." Makoto frowns at his monitors as he hears this conversation. "It's like that they refuse to acknowledge the cameras."

_So, they plan to rebel..._

Makoto smiles softly. "Perhaps I can use this opportunity to make things more interesting... I wonder how the other students would react to this?"

_Oh, yes... This will be very interesting indeed._

* * *

_*ding dong bing bong*_

_"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"_

Mondo shoots straight up from his bed. This was the day. In less then 30 minutes, he and Sakura will attack Monokuma... Together, they will save Chihiro and Kyoko.

He stares at the roof as he mentally prepares himself.

_Monokuma, hope yer fucking ready... We're going to beat the shit out of you!_

After psyching himself up, he makes his way to the gym.

There, Sakura was already waiting. "I peeked inside of the gym... Monokuma is there, tossing the detonator up and down."

"What?! What if he accidentally presses the button?" Mondo looks inside the gym and sure enough... Monokuma was giggling to himself and juggling the detonator.

Mondo nods. "Are you ready?"

"Ready."

...

_*BANG!*_

Both Sakura and Mondo charges through the door and speeds to Monokuma. In the blink of an eye, Mondo catches the detonator out of the air and Sakura grabs Monokuma.

"Yowch!" Monokuma exclaims. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

"YOU'RE DEAD ASSHOLE!" Mondo roars. "Any last words before we pummel you into submission?

"Your hair looks like a giant turd!"

"Oh, that's it!" Mondo's face turns red as he cracks his knuckles.

"Mondo, calm yours-" before Sakura could finish her sentence, Mondo grabs Monokuma out of Sakura's hands and kicks him into the air

_*BOOM!*_

The Monokuma explodes as it hits the roof.

As soon as it does however, another Monokuma runs into the gym. At the same time, several chains appear out of nowhere and restrains both of them

"Woah, what the hell?!" Mondo looks at his arms in shock.

Sakura's expression darkens. "It was a trap."

Behind the second Monokuma, the rest of the students were following him.

"Bro!" Ishimaru quickly runs up to him. "Let go of him!"

"These two students have violated the rules... Violence against the headmaster is prohibited!"

Sakura shouts out in anger as she attempts to break out of her binds. The metal screams in protest, but holds firm.

"This is... troublesome." Celeste's eyes widen.

"Spears of Gungnir! To me!" Monokuma raises his paws in the air.

At that moment, two spears materialize, one in each of his paws.

Then, with a surprising amount of force, he throws at at both students.

"Urk!" Mondo's face contorts into agony as the spear penetrates directly through his heart. "F-Fuck..."

"..." Sakura pales considerably as the spear pierces through her heart as well.

"Hey you guys!" Monokuma turns around to meet the others. "Didja see my aim? Remarkable, isn't it? I have inflicted fatal wounds on _both _of them!"

"BROOOOOOOOOO!" Ishimaru shouts, tears pouring down his face.

"Not good, not good _so _not good!" Hagakure says in a panic.

"M-Mr. Owada! Ms. Ogami!" Yamada puts his hands up to his face. "This is _not _okay!"

"H-Hey... This is a joke right?" Leon's face was a white as a sheet. "This isn't real..."

"This is reality! These two have violated the rules, thus they must be punished! Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma bellows, putting his paws to his stomach.

Celeste takes a deep breath. "At the very least, Chihiro and Kyoko will be released... correct?"

"WRONG! They will still be blown to bits in..." Monokuma glances behind him. "32 seconds!"

"W-What?" Uncharacteristically, Celeste begins to stammer. "B-But... there has been two deaths... that should be enough to satisfy the motive."

"AND I QUOTE!"

...

_"If none of you kids commits murder against someone else within 24 hours, you can say goodbye to both of these girls!"_

...

"End quote."

"Oh..."

"WAIT WHAT?!" Leon shouts. "THATS FUCKING BULLSH-"

"Times up!"

***BOOM***

A small explosion erupts from within the cage. Smoke, mixed in with splatters of blood and scraps of clothing, spews out everywhere.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Ishimaru screams at the top of his lungs, falling to his knees.

"Four deaths..." Yamada mumbles.

"Four... deaths..." Eyes rolling up to the back of his head, Yamada passes out, falling onto the floor.

"Haha! This is a dream!" Hagakure laughs nervously, pinching his cheek. "I'll wake up _annnnyyy _second now!"

Celeste scans the room.

_Leon, Yamada, Ishimaru, Hagakure, and... Me._

Only five people were alive.

"Puhuhuhuhu! Oh man, this is the most fun I've had in a while!" Monokuma guffaws.

As the smoke clears up, Celeste notices that the contents of the cage had become visible. Already, she sees some remains of her two classmates. A gloved finger... Bits of brown hair, almost completely soaked in blood... That was about the extent of what she could see though.

She would need to look inside of the cage to see anything else.

_DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK_  
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Celeste looks.

...

...

...

For the first time in quite a while, she lets out a genuine scream. A scream of terror and disgust. It was instinctual, coming out with no resistance. It sounded uncharacteristically raw, almost primal.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

***A/N* Guest Reviewer: Makoto's strength isn't enhanced. He has average strength, so he can't hit super hard, but it isn't like Kyoko is super strong either. **

**It's just that he hit her in the face as hard as he could.**

**00Zy99: Yeah, I can def see your point. thx for pointing out the flaws, that are here - I'll try to improve on that if I decide to write another fic. **

**Though about Naegi breaking after a few hundred loops - I feel like it's somewhat realistic. Each loop lasts for several weeks, and each time he goes through it, he sees his friends die over and over again. Sometimes, he watches himself die as well.**

**At some point, he will become numb to all of the deaths, and at that point I think that the process will just speed up.**

**By the way, there's probably only going to be 2 or 3 more chapters before the bad ending is finished. Then, I'll write the good ending which as I mentioned, will be significantly shorter.**


	43. Act 3, Chapter 15

"You know, those two rebels threw their lives away to save you guys!"

Monokuma smirks down at the remaining students. After the motive's timer ran out, they all quietly walked to the Dining Hall. There was no banter, no conversations, nothing. Just a deafening silence.

Celestia Ludenberg.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

Leon Kuwata.

Yasohiro Hagakure.

Yamada Hifumi.

These students were the survivors from this particular Killing Game.

Within the span of three days, over two thirds of the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy have died.

...

"So, I think that it would be a waste for their lives to be a true waste."

...

"Man, can you guys lighten up?" Monokuma jumps up on the table and motions dramatically at himself. "I'm speaking here!"

"Witnessing so much death in such a short span of time..." Celeste mummers. "Can you really blame us?"

Ishimaru stares off to the distance, posture even straighter then usual. "Bro..."

"Oh, come on! I'm letting you guys out of here!"

...

"Come again?" Yamada glances up hopefully.

"Yeah, you guys are free to go. In fact, the main door is open right now."

"Seriously?!" Hagakure asks incredulously.

Celeste narrows her eyes. "Is this a trap?"

Monokuma puts his paws to his mouth. "Of course not! Its just that you guys haven't been paying rent. Call this an eviction!"

"Should we check it out?" Leon asks.

"Outside world, here I come!" Hagakure jumps up and runs to the main hall.

Yamada nods. "Yes, I suppose we don't have a choice in this matter! I shall join Mr. Hagakure!"

Celeste sighs and reluctantly stands up. "I suppose I'll check it out as well."

Leon glances back at Ishimaru. He hadn't reacted at all, and was still staring off to the distance. "I'll drag him along."

"Puhuhuhu... Yes, go on... The outside world awaits!"

* * *

The 5 students stand in front of the main entrance. Each and every one of them had an expression of unmistakable horror.

"What... Why?" Hagakure mutters.

It was horrible. The outside world was completely destroyed. Random fires were lit, and remains of broken vehicles and torn down houses littered the area. With the dark red sky, the whole scene was almost cliche.

Not only was the sight terrifying, the smell was also _awful. _Instead of clear air, the smell of smoke and chemicals filled the sky. It was so strong that the surviving students could barely stand breathing.

"Hey guys, I'm here with Ishima- WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Turning around, Celeste sees Leon. Next to him, Ishimaru was still emotionless. His arm was being gripped tightly by a pale Leon.

"Puhuhuhu... Here it is, the place that you wanted to escape to!"

A loud chorus of Monokuma's suddenly sounds out. Behind Leon and Ishimaru, a horde of what must have been hundreds of Monokumas appeared.

"M-Monokuma... I demand an explanation!" Yamada backs up, fear prominent on his face.

"Get out of here! Go on, this is your chance to escape!" All of the Monokumas say at once.

"Hey, what's happening here?! What happened out here?" Leon demands.

"It doesn't matter! You can't live inside of the school, so might as well stay out here, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Celeste asks cautiously. "We can't live inside of the school?

A singular Monokuma separates itself from the crowd. "Well, lack of rent aside... There's another reason why you have to be evicted."

"And this reason is...?"

"I'm not sure if you realized it or not, but the air has been getting awfully stale in there. In fact, the only reason why you guys haven't been super affected was because I had a few small purifiers running in the background."

"The hell are you talking about?!" Leon shouts, glaring at Monokuma.

"There is one _giant _air purifier that shut down at the start of the Killing Game. So the air had steadily been become staler and staler... So, you guys have literally no choice but to stay out here instead!"

"Hey..." Yamada raises a finger. "Doesn't that mean _you _have to go out here as well?"

"Puhuhuhuhu! But of course! I am merely hidden within this crowd of Monokumas!"

"Really?! Come out then so I can beat the shit out of you!" Leon roars.

...

All at once, the Monokumas fall silent. Then, all at once, the crowd divides.

Standing in the middle of it all, was an average looking boy, sporting a green hoodie and an ahoge.

"Hey there. I'm Makoto Naegi." Makoto waves his hand nonchalantly. "Pleased to meet you."

"Y-You're..." Leon steps forward, snarling. "You're the one who killed everyone?! You're the one who trapped us all in there?!"

"Hm... I guess you could say that." Makoto shrugs. "Watching you all kill each other was pretty interesting, but it got boring fast."

"You... You would dare toy with our lives like that?" Celeste asks in a deathly quiet voice.

"Well, yeah. Especially since none of this matters in the end."

Celeste's eyes fill with rage as she points her metal finger at Makoto. "You damned BRAT! How DARE you put me through this RIDICULOUS GA-"

"Can you please shut up?" Makoto interrupts tonelessly.

"WHAT DID YOU S-"

"I just asked you to shut up... nicely too." Makoto sighs and shakes his head.

"YOU-"

"Sssshhhhhh..." Makoto puts a finger to his lips. "No one cares..."

"Oh, that's it!" Leon picks a sizeable rock from the ground. "You're gonna taste the ground, ya damn bastard!"

With that, Leon throws the rock directly at Makoto's face. With the expected skill of the Ultimate Baseball Star, the throw was near perfect. It flew straight and true, and faster then anyone could follow.

Anyone except Makoto, that is. Before Leon even picked up the rock, he had put his hand up to his face at the exact spot where the rock would have hit.

And he caught it with no resistance.

"How predictable..." Makoto shakes his head, disappointed. "I guess this is how Junko and Izuru felt..."

He brings out a large remote and presses a button, and the Monokumas surround him again.

"Puhuhuhuhuhu!" They all laugh at the same time before surging forwards.

"AHHHH! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Hagakure screams, tossing himself aside.

"They're going to kill me!" Yamada says, perfectly mimicking Hagakure's actions.

The horde of Monokumas charged through the students, laughing all the while. Obviously, the students were forced to move out of the way lest they get stampeded.

"Damn! He got away..." Leon scowled.

Suddenly, a helicopter appears in the distance. It seemed to be miles away, yet the roar of its choppers was able to be heard.

"Look!" Yamada points at it. "They're coming this way!"

"As enemy or as foe?" Celeste ponders.

"E-Enemy?!" Hagakure grasps his head with both of his hands. "W-What if it shoots us?!"

"It might be a rescue team." Leon comments.

"I suggest that we wait for them and see what they want." Celeste says.

"But they might kill us!" Hagakure argues.

"Well, it's not like we have a better chance out here." Celeste gestures to the ruins in front of them. "They might be a rescue team."

"Y-Yes... They might be there to rescue us!" Yamada perks up.

"Well, let's just wait and see." Leon sits down on the pavement and looks at the approaching helicopter. It was sleek and black, looking completely undamaged.

_Weird how it looks brand new even though its the fuckin apocalypse..._

On the sides of the helicopter, he notices a weird decal.

**FF**

* * *

Makoto looks up at the sky wistfully. This was the first time he had manned a Killing Game... While it was interesting at the start, it actually got boring fast... though it was cool seeing the reactions of his classmates to his crazy motives.

It was pretty sad that he had to cut it off early though... plus, he had to rush through the entire thing in the first place. They wouldn't be able to live in there for long with the air purifiers off, after all.

The backup purifiers weren't connected to the life of Junko, so he was able to use those to slow down the air consumption... Plus killing off the students as quickly as he could helped as well.

But now, he had a small army of Monokumas and no idea what to do with them.

Oh well... Maybe he could raid those idiots at Future Foundation or something. He had several weeks to burn after all.


	44. Bonus Chapter

***A/N* So before the bad ending is wrapped up, here's a bunch of mini-stories from bored Makoto.**

**WARNING:** **Most of these stories are not connected. Meaning each divider indicates a different time loop. **

* * *

**The ?th Killing Game**

Makoto was bored.

Super bored.

Crazily bored.

boredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredbored...

Well, what better way for a time traveler to have fun then to mess with some people?

* * *

"Hey Celeste, wanna play a game of poker? We can even bet on it if you want."

Makoto had knocked on Celeste's door and invited her to hang out. Reluctantly, Celeste accepted. She hadn't been expecting much, but when the luckster of Hope's Peak decided to challenge her to a game of cards...

Well, she decided that this might be a lot more interesting then she thought it might be.

"Hm? You want to challenge me to a game of poker? I'll have you know that I haven't ever lost a hand before." Celeste smiles in amusement.

"Well, I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto shrugs and offers her a grin of his own. "Wanna see which talent wins out in the end?"

"I accept your challenge... Let's play cards."

...

...

...

Decimated.

Destroyed.

Annihilated.

Celeste got completely decimated, destroyed, and annihilated. She had never felt this helpless in her entire life. No matter what she did, it seems like that Makoto always had the upper hand. To make it all worse, _he _seemed to be able to see through her mask perfectly well. And on the flip side, _she _couldn't look through his mask at all.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Celeste finally snaps as Makoto won another hand. He had seen through her bluff, and to add insult to injury, he won this hand with only a king high.

Celeste grabs Makoto by the shirt and pulls him forwards.

"How are you doing this?! You're cheating, aren't you?!" Celeste hisses in Makoto's face.

"Huh? Oh, I just got lucky I guess." Makoto sheepishly grins. "Can you... erm, let go of my shirt?"

Celeste lets go and takes a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't lose her temper at this average looking kid. Her pride would not allow it.

"Fine... I concede defeat... But mark my words, Makoto Naegi. I will defeat you, even if it takes the rest of my life." Celeste smiles sweetly. "Can you get out of my room now? I need to... collect myself."

"Oh, sure." Makoto gets up and approaches the door. But before he leaves, he suddenly pauses and turns back. "I look forward to playing with you again, _Taeko Yasohiro!_"

"... What... did you just-"

Too late. Makoto closes the door behinds him as he leaves.

...

...

...

...

...

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

* * *

"Hey, Kyoko!" Makoto sits down next to Kyoko. She had been eating her lunch in peace and quiet... before Makoto slams his own plate right next to hers.

"... Do you need something?" Kyoko glances up from her food and looks at Makoto.

Suddenly, Makoto's eyes widen slightly. "Oh, I just need to tell you something. It isn't that important, but it would be good for you to know."

"I'm listening."

"Junko Enoshima is the mastermind behind Monokuma. The Junko Enoshima who died yesterday was actually her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba. Mukuro is the Ultimate Soldier, and was just posing as her sister. Also, you're the Ultimate Detective and your father used to be the headmaster of this academy. Unfortunately, he's dead. By the way, we're all actually two years older then we think because Junko had stolen 2 years worth of our memories. We had actually been classmates for years, and close friends. Junko had thrown us into this killing game in order to spread Despair throughout the whole word, which is currently in a post-apocalyptic state."

It really took a lot to truly catch Kyoko off guard. It had only happened a handful of times in her whole life.

This was one of those times.

"..." Kyoko's jaw drops as she stares at Makoto in stunned silence.

"Also, you wear black low-rise briefs with a ribbon decoration on the side."

Her face quickly turns red.

"What...?" Kyoko shakes her head. "How?!"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, I think that I will worry about it. Tell me everything."

"Nah." Makoto grins as he takes Kyoko's sandwich and bites into it. "BLT? Good choice. See you later Kyoko."

And before Kyoko could utter another word, he leaves.

...

"I have never been so confused in my life..."

* * *

"And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here... I'm going to hand them out now, so take a second to take a peek!"

As Monokuma spoke, he tossed the envelopes at the floor. Makoto quickly snatches the envelope with his written on it. Sure enough, _Makoto__ Naegi wet the bed until he was in the 5th grade _is written on there.

"How'd you find out about this?!"

"H-How?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

Various exclamations arose from the students as they read their deepest darkest secrets.

"You have 24 hours! If someone doesn't become blackened by then...all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassingest secrets will be exposed to the world! Maybe I'll blast these secrets on loudspeakers in a public street! Puhuhuhuhu!" Monokuma guffaws as he rubs his paws together in glee.

"24 hours? That's way too long." Makoto speaks up.

"Wuzzat?" Monokuma tilts his head quizzically at Makoto.

"How about I just obliterate your motive right now?" Makoto clears his throat. He had heard these secrets so many times, that each individual secret had seared itself into Makoto's brain.

"Kyoko Kirigiri has amensia!"

"Sayaka Maizono caused the suicide of a rival pop idol!"

"Mondo Owada caused the death of his brother!"

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Mondo roars.

"How do you know all of this?" Kyoko asks.

Instead of responding, Makoto continues with his recital.

"Yasohiro Hagakure is in debt with the Yakuza!"

"Sakura Ogami is a mole for the mastermind!"

"Hey!" Asahina snaps. "What do you mean Sakura is a mole for the mast-"

"AOI ASAHINA IS INSECURE ABOUT HER FEMININITY!" Makoto shouts over Asahina's objection.

"Wha-"

"Chihiro Fujisaki is male!"

"Chihiro's a WHAT?!"

"Kiyotaka Ishimaru's grandfather was a Prime Minister who got caught in a bunch of scandals!"

"Hifumi Yamada had once plagiarized a fanfiction!

"Leon Kuwata is in a romantic relationship with his cousin!"

"What the fuck?!" Leon yells. "It isn't like that!"

"Byakuya Togami is an illegitimate child!" Makoto continues announcing secrets left and right, completely ignoring any objections.

"Celeste Ludenberg's real name is Taeko Yasohiro!"

"How dare you reveal that informa-"

"Makoto Naegi wet the bed until the 5th grade!"

"Mukuro Ikusaba has a crush on Makoto Naegi!"

...

...

...

"Wow." Monokuma slowly claps his paws. "I'm so amazed, that I'm even slow clapping for you. You see this?"

"How did you know all of our secrets, Makoto?" Byakuya snarls.

"Well, I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto says in a matter of fact manner, as if this explained everything.

"We know that. What does that have to do with anything?" Kyoko trains a cold glare onto Makoto.

"Well, I just used my luck to guess all of your secrets. I just said the first stuff that came to mind, and judging by your reactions, I suppose my guesses are right."

"That ain't luck!" Mondo roars. "That's just bullshit!"

"Ha! Maybe I should be called the Ultimate Bullshit then!" Makoto grins mischievously.

Byakuya shakes his head in disgust. "There's no way that you just _guessed _all of that. I refuse to believe it."

"I can't believe that I'm agreeing with Byakuya, but he's right. No luck in the world could have done that." Asahina comments.

"To be honest, this is actually really funny. I'm laughing really hard on the inside right now." Monokuma says in the most monotone voice possible. "My motive was taken apart in less then a minute. Hilarious. So hilarious, that I'm announcing that the first person to kill Makoto gets to get out of here without a class trial or anything. I'll even toss in a hundred million yen to his murderer."

"That's great." Makoto nods in an offhand manner. "Well, I'm gonna go eat something. See ya."

"Hey! We aren't done with you here." Leon steps in front of him, arms crossed.

"Yes you are." Makoto shoves him out of the way and walks out the door, leaving 14 dumbstruck students in the gym.

...

"So, uh... Should we be worried about that new motive?"

* * *

Makoto glances up at the red sky. If he were a normal person, he would probably find it quite unnerving. This, coupled with the apparent apocalypse happening, made this place seem like a warzone. It probably _was _at some point.

He had been exploring the wastelands... They were the one place that Makoto had not seen over and over again. This was actually only his 6th time exploring. He had found and optimized a route to quickly get to the outside world.

_Step 1 - Hide in the shower while Sayaka tries to kill Leon._

_Step 2 - Wait until Leon stabs Sayaka in the stomach._

_Step 3 - While Leon disposes of evidence, quickly and quietly finish Sayaka off before she bleeds to death._

_Step 4 - Do the first trial in the normal way. _

_Step 5 - Watch as everyone votes for Leon... and fails._

It was the fastest way he could get out to the outside world. Doing this provided necessary relief from his boredom, preventing him from going completely insane. This place was a lot more interesting then the school, though not by much. At least it was significantly bigger.

The only bad part about this was that Junko always insisted on tagging along with him everywhere.

...

He looked down to his right arm. Junko was clinging tightly on to it, nuzzling him.

"So, where are we going Naegi?" Junko purrs.

"... I'm just walking around. No particular destination in mind." The luckster replies nonchalantly.

"Awww, that's so boring though." Junko whines. "Why don't we find a private spot and spend some quality time together?"

"No."

"Come onnnnn..."

Sighing, Makoto reluctantly puts an arm into Junko's shirt...

"Oooh! Now we're talking!"

... Before pulling out a handgun from her bra.

He then proceeds to shoot a round into a nearby bush.

"AUUUUUGH!" A scream emanates from the mentioned bush.

"Fuckin bandits... Vultures of humanity." Makoto sighs and shakes his head. "He had been following us for the past 15 minutes."

"So you let him follow us before shooting him?" Junko asks. "Ooooh, how despairingly cruel!"

"Whatever."

* * *

"Heyyy Sakura!" Makoto cheerfully runs up behind Sakura and pats her on the back. "Wanna fight?"

Sakura glances down at Makoto. Where did this come from? "Why?

"Oh, no reason! I've just heard a lot about you from Kenshiro."

Every single muscle in Sakura's body instantly tenses up. "What did you just say?"

Makoto grins teasingly. "Oh, I was a pupil of Kenshiro's. He told me a lot about you!" Of course, this was a fat lie. Makoto only knew about Kenshiro because he had heard her story a bunch of times already.

"_You_ were a pupil of Kenshiro...?" Sakura looks at him, unimpressed.

"Yup! So wanna spar?"

...

"Very well. But if you truly are his pupil, I will not go easy on you." A threatening aura emanates from Sakura. In truth, she is not expecting much. Makoto had the figure of an average high schooler. It was disappointing, but she suspects that this will be an easy fight.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Ugh!" Sakura falls to the ground, panting heavily as pain courses through her body. Throughout the entire fight, she hadn't been able to touch Makoto even once. He effortlessly dodged through all of her attacks while counter attacking on his own. While his attacks would normally do little damage, he had shown a surprising amount of knowledge on pressure points.

Eventually, the pain of being attacked over and over again got to her. It had taken around 30 minutes of fighting, but she finally falls.

"I... I concede."

"Oh! Well, good games!" Makoto smiles brightly at her and offers her his hand.

"..." Wordlessly, Sakura takes it.

"Oh... my... God..." Asahina's jaw drops to the floor. She, along with Mukuro had been spectating the fight. Initially, both Asahina and Mukuro thought that Sakura would easily win. But as the fight progressed, they both began to realize that Makoto actually held the upper hand in this matchup.

"I'm not fully convinced that you are actually Kenshiro's pupil... This is mainly because I could never envision him taking one. However, I do admit that you fight similarly to him... Just like Kenshiro, I couldn't land a single blow on you." Sakura says as she stands back up.

"Heh, sounds like him." Makoto nods before walking to meet the two spectators. "So... did you enjoy the show?"

"You... You just beat the Ultimate Martial Artist in hand to hand combat... I thought that beating Sakura was impossible." Asahina says, shocked.

Makoto laughs sheepishly. "She was tough, really! I had to manage my energy a bunch during the fight. Sakura was also very durable."

"... Don't be modest." Mukuro says simply.

"Oh, your the Ultimate Solider, right Mukuro?" Makoto trains a shining grin at her.

"I-I... Yes, I a-am." Mukuro looks away, embarrassed.

Makoto only leans in closer, until they were mere inches apart. "Wanna spar sometime?"

Mukuro's face turns beet red as she mutters. "O-Okay..."

"Makoto!" Asahina scolds. "Don't tease her... It's bad enough having your crush revealed to a crowd of people... But to make it worse, it was Monokuma who revealed it!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Mukuro!" Makoto gives her a wide eyed look that's almost mocking. And it _was _mocking. It's just that these people thought he was too innocent to do something like that.

"It's fine..."

"Well, I look forward to our sparring match!" Makoto gives them one more thumbs up before leaving.

...

"I wish you luck in sparring with him, Mukuro." Sakura puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know all too well the feeling of fighting a tough opponent... who happens to be your love interest."

"L-Love interest?!" Mukuro's face somehow turns even more red.

"Sakura..." Asahina sighs. "Not you too!"

"Sorry."

* * *

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... then I'll punish everyone *besides* the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"Okay then...everyone close your eyes, and whoever did it, raise your hand!" Ishimaru says.

"Don't be a goddamn idiot. Why the hell would they raise their hand?" Mondo scowls.

"Ahem." Makoto clears his throat. "I know who the killer is."

...

"H-Huh? Who is it?!" Leon demands.

"Here, let me explain it in an easy to understand matter." Makoto grins pointedly at Leon.

"Last night, the killer went to the room Sayaka was in. In other words, my room. It was actually Sayaka who invited that person there intending to kill them. She attacked them with the knife she had taken from the kitchen earlier... but then something happened that she wasn't prepared for. They grabbed the fake sword I'd put in my room, and fought back. During the struggle, a strike from the sword broke Sayaka's right wrist... And that's when she lost her grip on the kitchen knife. Finding herself cornered, Sayaka panicked and ran into the bathroom. The killer went after her, but couldn't get the bathroom door open. What they didn't know was that my bathroom door was misaligned, and there was a trick to opening it. Sayaka knew about that because I'd told her, but of course the killer had no way of knowing. So instead, the killer forced the door open using the screwdriver from his toolkit, took the kitchen knife... and stabbed Sayaka. But with what strength she had remaining, Sayaka left a dying message. To keep the killer from noticing, she wrote it on the wall behind her... And with that, all her strength was gone. With Sayaka dead, the killer quickly began destroying the evidence. First, they took off their shirt, which was covered in their victim's blood. Then they took the lint roller in my room and cleaned up the entire area. They wanted to make sure they got rid of any trace they'd ever been there... Afterwards, the killer headed to the trash room to destroy their bloody shirt. They tried to burn the shirt using the incinerator there. But the trash room was blocked off by an especially sturdy gate, preventing access to the incinerator. So they came up with a plan to use Hagakure's crystal ball, which he'd left in the laundry room. The killer managed to throw the ball through the gap in the gate and hit the incinerator's switch. For any normal person, that'd be an impossible throw, but the killer had the confidence to take a shot. And that's because the killer...was the Ultimate Baseball Star. The crystal ball, thrown with absolute precision, hit the switch on the incinerator...which then quickly roared to life. Having destroyed the final piece of evidence, they left the area with, I imagine, a sigh of relief. But there was one thing they missed... Part of the shirt they'd thrown into the fire burnt away and fell out of the incinerator. The killer didn't notice this, and so left behind a piece of indisputable evidence. Isn't that right, Leon?"

...

...

...

"What... the fuck?!" Leon screams. "YOU JUST PULLED THAT OUTTA YOUR FUCKING ASS! THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO FIGURE ALL THAT SHIT OUT!"

"... Actually, most of the evidence that I found corroborates that." Kyoko says. "Sayaka did indeed invite the killer to Makoto's room and switched the name plates."

"W-What?!"

"Is that what happened to my crystal ball?!" Hagakure cries.

"NO! YOU'RE STUPID! STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID! NONE OF THAT SHIT MAKES SENSE!"

"So, show us your tool kit. If you're innocent, it should be unopened."

"Wha... Wha... How..." Leon stammers.

...

"WELL THEN!" Monokuma says. "Should we proceed to voting? Or are there any objections?"

...

...

...

"Okay, it's voting time! Will you make the right choice? Or the dreadfully wr... ah fuck it. Just pull the damned lever."

...

Monokuma sighs disappointingly. "Yeah yeah, Leon was the murderer... In a world record, this class trial finished in 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Woohoo."

All at once, everyone turns to look at Makoto.

"... How did you know?" Kyoko asks.

"Indeed." Byakuya nods. "I would like to know as well."

"I dunno." Makoto shrugs. "It all just kind of popped up in my head."

...

_Man, that was boring... Whatever._

"Alright, time to execute Leon I guess."

"NOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Whistling, Makoto walks into the Dining Hall, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Hello, Makoto, and good morning! Can you believe it? I was the very first one here this morning!" Ishimaru spreads his arms proudly.

"Great job."

One by one, the other students come in as well. In the same exact order as always... First, Chihiro, Asahina, and Sakura come in. Then, it's Mondo, Mukuro, and Yamada. After that, Kyoko, Celeste, Leon, Toko, and Hagakure. It's always the same.

Every single god damn time.

"Oh, looks like we're missing Byakuya and Sayaka." Makoto says casually.

"What? Did something happen?" Right on que, Byakuya comes walking in to the Dining Hall.

"Hey man! Have you seen Sayaka?" Mondo asks.

"Don't bother asking. Sayaka's probably dead or something." Makoto yawns, stuffing a bagel in his mouth.

"Hey, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that." Asahina glares pointedly at him.

"I'm not joking. Sayaka wouldn't be late to this. Hey Mondo, why don't you go to Sayaka's room and check? Here's the key to her room." Makoto glances over his shoulder before tossing his room key."

"Huh? Why do you have her room key?" Mondo snatches it out of the air and stares at it.

"Oh, it's not really her room key. It's mine. She just switched the name plates on her rooms and slept in mine last night."

"What?"

"Just check on her, will ya? She should be in the shower room with a knife sticking out of her gut."

"If that's true, why the hell are ya being so calm about it?!"

"Just shut up and check on her."

"You fucking bi-"

Before Mondo could finish his sentence, Makoto trained his gaze on him.

It was, for a lack of better words, a terrifying gaze. It was the one that made children cry at a single glance. Makoto's face morphed into an expression that made every single warning sign in Mondo's brain go off. At that moment, Mondo was completely convinced that Makoto would kill him.

...

...

"I'll go check on her..." Mondo quickly gets up and leaves the Dining Hall.

"That's great." Makoto's face turns back to normal.

...

Makoto looks around as he sees that everyone was staring at him with an astonished look.

"... Something wrong?"

* * *

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Um... Can I ask you your name?" Makoto asks, breaking the awkward silence.

"My name is... Kyoko Kirigiri."

"So, what are you doing at this school?"

Kyoko frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, if you get invited to this school, you're supposed to be the Ultimate _something_, right?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"..."

"..."

"You don't remember, do you?" Makoto deadpans.

For a split second, Kyoko's face suddenly morphs into a shocked expression. Then as soon as it came, the shocked expression vanishes.

"W-What makes you think that?"

"Well since you don't remember, let me tell you. You're the Ultimate Detective."

Kyoko shakes her head. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Well, think about it! Don't you come from a long line of detectives? Don't you have the mind of one too?"

"I.." Kyoko winces as she tries to recall. "A long line of detectives?"

"Oh, trying to remember gives you a headache, huh? Don't worry, just know that you're the Ultimate Detective." Makoto pats Kyoko on the shoulder.

Scowling, Kyoko shies away from his hand. "Don't touch me."

"Oh, alright. See you later then!" Makoto grins before moving on to introduce himself to someone else.

...

"Who was that guy...?"

* * *

"Well? Does no one have a rebuttal? Have you decided to accept her assertion as fact?" Byakuya demands.

...

"I see. So you still refuse to accept it. I suppose we have to admit that Kyoko didn't put the locker key in her room, that it was someone else."

"... You know, I've been in this situation many, many times." Makoto says tonelessly.

"What?" Byakuya glances at him.

"I don't even know why I'm doing it all over again... Perhaps I'm just _that _bored."

Asahina, Byakuya, Hagakure, Toko, and Kyoko all stare at him with confusion. What was he going on about?

"Oh... So that's whats going on here? Puhuhuhu... PUHUHUHUHUHU!" Monokuma breaks out into loud laughter. "That's FANTASTIC!"

"Junko... Can you shut up?" Makoto sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "That laughter really grates my head."

"Sorry, sorry! Anyway, on that note, shall we proceed to voting?"

"What? But we haven't finished discussing." Kyoko protests.

"Kyoko... Just drop it, will ya?" Makoto directs a withering glare at her.

"Naegs, what's gotten into you?" Hagakure looks worriedly at him.

"I honestly don't care... this is all too boring. Just hurry it up and vote me guilty like you idiots always do, huh?"

"Indeed!" Monokuma raises his paw. "Now, who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

Byakuya holds a finger up. "Hold on a second he-"

"What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

...

As always...

_As always..._

**_As always..._**

Makoto is voted guilty. It happens yet again.

"Good job everyone! Ya got it right!" Monokuma guffaws.

"Sure." Makoto rolls his eyes. "Real convincing."

"Hey, you may have seen this a bunch of times before, but it's the first time for me! No criticism!"

"Excuse me... What do you mean by 'a bunch of times'?" Kyoko asks.

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" Asahina glances at Monokuma expectantly.

"Oh, Makoto here is a time traveler."

...

...

"Of course you wouldn't give us a straight answer." Byakuya scowls.

"I think that Monokuma was _plenty _clear." Makoto says. "How much clearer can you get? I'm a time traveler."

**"W-What?! No way that's true... is it?" **Both Makoto and Hagakure exclaim at the same time.

...

**"Wait a minute, what ****just happened?"** Both Makoto and Hagakure asks at the same time.

...

**"Makoto, how are you doing this?" **Both Kyoko and Makoto asks at the same time.

...

...

...

"Exactly as he says." Makoto sighs and shakes his head. "This is actually the 7th time that I'm having this conversation."

**"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" **Both Makoto and Monokuma shouts at the same time.

"Oh, damn your good." Monokuma nods approvingly.

"T-Time travel?! That's ridiculous!" Toko scoffs.

"Anyway, Monokuma... You should just shoot me in the head or something instead of using your execution."

"Huuuuuuhhhh?" Monokuma asks quizzically. "Why's that?"

"Well, right before I get crushed by the compactor, Alter Ego hacks into you and I end up surviving... You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

"Wait a second." Byakuya says. "Why would you tell him that?"

"So that I actually die this time."

...

"Well, I guess I'll just take your advice!" Monokuma says, rustling his arm underneath his chair. "Let's see... I have a gun here _somewhere..._"

"Makoto... You mentioned Junko's name back there... Is she the mastermind?" Kyoko asks cautiously.

"Mhm." Makoto nods his head. "She used a body double for her death."

"... I see."

"Oh, here we are!" Monokuma says cheerfully, holding up a revolver.

Makoto slowly walks up to Monokuma and parts his hair, presenting his forehead. "Here you go."

"Why, thank you!"

"WAIT NO! MAKOTO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Asahina screams.

"A-Are you serious?!" Toko stares at him incredulously.

"See you later." Makoto responds nonchalantly.

_*BANG*_

Makoto drops dead. Bits of bone and blood splatters everywhere.

...

...

"What the fu-"

* * *

"Komaeda, meet Makoto! Makoto, meet Komaeda!"

Junko looks back and forth between the two with interest. Junko had dragged Makoto all the way to the Remnant's hideout. He always complained about being bored, so she thought that maybe he could make some new friends!

As expected, Komaeda's eyes immediately brightens. "Ah, you're Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

He forcefully grasps both of Makoto's hands and begins to shake it. "We both share the same talent, but I can tell that your Hope far surpasses mine!"

Makoto stares at him with a bored look. "Hope?"

Komaeda's expresssion abruptly twists into a sinister look. "Yes, Hope! You can birth Hope from Despair, a truly rare talent! Look around, Makoto. Together, my classmates and I have been spreading disgusting Despair throughout the entire world! But soon, with talented people like you, a brighter and greater Hope shall completely destroy this Despair!"

"Hope from Despair?"

"YES! Everywhere you look, there is Despair. Disgusting, slimy Despair. But having it around is nessescary in order to give birth to Hope! When people overcome Despair, they turn into greater Hope!"

"..." Makoto glances back at Junko who was obviously holding back laughter.

Suddenly, Komaeda's expression turns back to normal. "Oh, I started rambling again, didn't I? Please excuse my rudeness."

Makoto shakes his head. "Hope... Despair... in the end, none of it matters."

"Hm?"

"Hope and Despair is a cycle... Hope eventually turns to Despair, and Despair eventually turns into Hope. But there's an end to that cycle. And at the end, neither Hope nor Despair exists."

"I see. Is that what you think?"

Makoto stares into Komaeda's eyes.

"No. It's what I know."


	45. Act 3, Chapter 16

**The 109,325th Killing Game**

Makoto Naegi wakes up in his desk. For a while, he had pounding headaches every single time he woke up. Now, he didn't notice anything.

That was not because he got used to it though.

Over time, everything faded. Pain, feelings, even vision... They all faded.

Don't get the wrong idea - Makoto still felt pain. But it didn't _feel _like pain. Not really. Even if you were to shoot him in the leg, he might feel nothing more then a slight numbing sensation.

Makoto's emotions had started fading even before he reached triple digits. But even then, he did feel low stirrings. Whenever he killed a classmate... Whenever saved a classmate... Whenever he stopped the Killing Game...

It was minuscule, but he _did _feel something.

Not anymore.

Makoto would feel the same amount of emotion when he took someones life as he did when he finished reading a book. That is to say, zero.

Even Makoto's vision had changed. Whenever he looked around, the colors seemed faded. He could still see those colors, and he could tell if they were bright or dark. But it just seemed dull to him.

Nothing really mattered to Makoto... No matter what he did, everything remained the same for him. So why bother doing anything at all? Well, there was really no reason to do anything at this point.

But he still does things anyway. No matter what he does, its as boring as staring at a wall... but he still does one meaningful action at each and every loop.

This one meaningful action...

* * *

Makoto calmly walks to the stairs locked by gates. He types something in the number pad next to it, and it unlocks. He repeats this process until he finally reaches the Monokuma room. It takes 5 minutes and 2 seconds to do this.

When he reaches it, he just stands there. Not moving, not talking, he just... stands there.

...

...

...

After 1 minute and 43 seconds, Monokuma appears before him.

"Helloooooo? Makoto?"

...

Makoto remains still as a statue.

"What are you doing here Makoto?"

"..."

"Did you receive a system error? Did someone press your shut off button?"

"... Come out, Junko." After exactly 17 seconds, Makoto says something.

"... Oh?"

"..."

"Puhuhuhu... Okay, _this _should be interesting! I shall heed your request!"

"..."

Exactly 32 seconds pass before Junko appears. She slams the door open and spreads her arms.

"Hey! I'm he-"

Makoto just walks past her and goes into the Monokuma room.

"Huh? Makotoooo!" Junko whines, trailing behind him.

But before she could catch up, Makoto slams the door shut and locks it.

_*BANG BANG BANG*_

Ignoring her knocks, Makoto walks up to the Monokuma control panel and summons every single Monokuma to the gym. Each one wields some sort of tool - a pickaxe, a hoe, spoons, scraps of metal... For the few that didn't have anything, they just brought out their claws.

Then, Makoto commands them to dig.

Dig dig dig dig...

Dig to the bottom of the gym.

He locks the gym doors so that none of the students did anything to impede this. As a precaution, two Monokumas push the doors forward to further barricade it.

Ordering each individual Monokuma to start this takes 10 minutes and 27 seconds.

The entire process - Waking up, going through all of the gates, luring Junko out, and then commanding the Monokumas...

It takes 12 minutes and 59 seconds.

* * *

**The 924,218th Killing Game**

Makoto Naegi wakes up in his desk. For a while, he had pounding headaches every single time he woke up. Now, he didn't notice anything.

That was not because he got used to it though.

Over time, everything faded. Pain, feelings, even vision... They all faded.

Don't get the wrong idea - Makoto still felt pain. But it didn't _feel _like pain. Not really. Even if you were to shoot him in the leg, he might feel nothing more then a slight numbing sensation.

Makoto's emotions had started fading even before he reached triple digits. But even then, he did feel low stirrings. Whenever he killed a classmate... Whenever saved a classmate... Whenever he stopped the Killing Game...

It was minuscule, but he _did _feel something.

Not anymore.

Makoto would feel the same amount of emotion when he took someones life as he did when he finished reading a book. That is to say, zero.

Even Makoto's vision had changed. Whenever he looked around, the colors seemed faded. He could still see those colors, and he could tell if they were bright or dark. But it just seemed dull to him.

Nothing really mattered to Makoto... No matter what he did, everything remained the same for him. So why bother doing anything at all? Well, there was really no reason to do anything at this point.

But he still does things anyway. No matter what he does, its as boring as staring at a wall... but he still does one meaningful action at each and every loop.

This one meaningful action...

* * *

Makoto calmly walks to the stairs locked by gates. He types something in the number pad next to it, and it unlocks. He repeats this process until he finally reaches the Monokuma room. It takes 5 minutes and 2 seconds to do this.

When he reaches it, he just stands there. Not moving, not talking, he just... stands there.

...

...

...

After 1 minute and 43 seconds, Monokuma appears before him.

"Helloooooo? Makoto?"

...

Makoto remains still as a statue.

"What are you doing here Makoto?"

"..."

"Did you receive a system error? Did someone press your shut off button?"

"... Come out, Junko." After exactly 17 seconds, Makoto says something.

"... Oh?"

"..."

"Puhuhuhu... Okay, _this _should be interesting! I shall heed your request!"

"..."

Exactly 32 seconds pass before Junko appears. She slams the door open and spreads her arms.

"Hey! I'm he-"

Makoto just walks past her and goes into the Monokuma room.

"Huh? Makotoooo!" Junko whines, trailing behind him.

But before she could catch up, Makoto slams the door shut and locks it.

_*BANG BANG BANG*_

Ignoring her knocks, Makoto walks up to the Monokuma control panel and summons every single Monokuma to the gym. Each one wields some sort of tool - a pickaxe, a hoe, spoons, scraps of metal... For the few that didn't have anything, they just brought out their claws.

Then, Makoto commands them to dig.

Dig dig dig dig...

Dig to the bottom of the gym.

He locks the gym doors so that none of the students did anything to impede this. As a precaution, two Monokumas push the doors forward to further barricade it.

Ordering each individual Monokuma to start this takes 10 minutes and 27 seconds.

The entire process - Waking up, going through all of the gates, luring Junko out, and then commanding the Monokumas...

It takes 12 minutes and 59 seconds.

And it always takes 12 minutes and 59 seconds. Every single loop, its the same. Makoto doesn't try to strategize or anything like that - he can't be bothered. He just commands them to dig down and then just sits there.

None of it really mattered anyway.

* * *

**The 92,382,391th Killing Game.**

When Makoto wakes up, his feet got caught on the chair for just a single moment. Somehow, Makoto's mechanic movements falter as he falls down on the floor.

...

He lies there for a moment, unable to process what just happened.

...

...

...

"Oh, I guess I fell." Makoto mumbles.

He doesn't really care though. He just continues with his usual process.

But by the time he finished commanding the Monokumas, it took 14 minutes and 3 seconds.

* * *

The Monokumas dig wordlessly. Devoid of their usual whimsical movements, they just dig through the floor in a robotic manner.

The rapidly deepening hole held many Monokumas, but not all of them. The Monokumas in the hole had the best tools suited for digging while the Monokumas outside the whole had the less effective tools. They focused on bringing debris out of the hole, doing a brigade. If a Monokuma overheats and malfunctions, it's immediately replaced.

From outside, several students watch in amazement.

"The hell are those bears doing?" Mondo asks incredulously.

"M-Maybe they're trying to dig a way out of here." Toko suggests. "T-The entrance _is _locked."

"Jeez... This looks pretty creepy." Mukuro comments.

Then, from behind her, she hears a familiar voice whisper.

_"Psssst! Mukuro!"_

Whirling behind her, she notices that Junko - the real Junko was hiding behind a corner.

Looking around to ensure that no one was staring, she carefully makes her way to Junko.

"Junko? What's going on?"

"Makoto locked me out of my control room!" Junko pouts. "I can't control the Monokumas!"

"What?" Mukuro stares at her in shock. "How in the world did that happen?"

Junko shrugs. "I dunno. But things _might _get a bit more interesting!"

* * *

One of two Monokumas sitting in front of the locked gym doors starts overheating. Despite not doing any labor, they had remained on and with no maintenance for a few weeks. Every time Makoto assigned a Monokuma to do a job, he actually does it randomly. This _does _save time, but that wasn't the reason why he did it. It's just that he couldn't be bothered to manually select a Monokuma.

...

...

_*BOOM*_

The Monokuma abruptly explodes, setting of a chain reaction.

_*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* __*BOOM* _

_..._

_..._

Huge explosions fill the gym as hundreds of powerful explosives go off at once. The gym catches fire, and as it spreads, the entire school.

Hope's Peak Academy is soon set entirely ablaze. The sprinkler system goes off, but it's useless against the fire caused by the hundreds of Monokuma explosions.

With no way to escape, the fire eventually reaches the students. They all perish in the fire.

And eventually, it reaches Makoto, who makes no attempt to escape.

_Oh. I guess something different happened this time._

He doesn't really care though.

As he is slowly enveloped by the fire, he can't help but notice one more giant explosion.

_***BOOM***_

_I wonder what that was..._

Makoto burns alive in the fire.

...

...

...

Makoto dies.

For the last time.

* * *

***A/N* Annnnnnd cut. Hopefully the ending makes _some _sort of sense... I tried to hint at what happened without being too obvious. It might be unrealistic or shoehorned, but I couldn't think of some other way to end it.**

**Really, it was either this or Makoto just stays there for all of eternity, which is an ending I already used in a different fic.**

**btw, hope that none of you are disappointed that I didn't write the Future Foundation raid... I just felt like that this had gone on for long enough ;p**

**Good ending coming soon.**


	46. Act 4

_._

_Act Four_

_Move Forwards, to The Future._

_"There's never only one choice to make... There's no way I'll allow things to end this way. The future everyone has created for us should have more possibilities than that. Let's leave this place with confidence, and from there we can just create it on our own. ...The future that we want!" _

_\- Hajime Hinata  
_

* * *

_Cold._

_So cold._

As soon as Makoto turns on the taser, darkness completely overtakes his vision as a disturbing feeling fills his body.

_Why is everything so cold?_

_Where am I?_

The dark was suffocating. He couldn't even tell if he was closing his eyes or not.

_Am I dead? Is this what awaits us in the afterlife?_

Makoto is freezing. But there wasn't anything he could really do about it. He was floating - floating in empty space.

Hey, there's an interesting thought. Maybe he was in space for some reason.

_Dark._

_Everything._

_..._

_It feels so bad._

_..._

_I want to die._

* * *

**The 31st Killing Game.**

Makoto wakes up on a desk. On it, a cheaply made pamphlet was on it. The room that this desk was in has secure bolted windows and a camera. Around him, several more desks are there, though those are empty.

For a second, Makoto just looks around, bewildered.

Then, he promptly vomits on the floor next to him.

Everything was spinning - What the hell was that void he had experienced? It felt like he was in there for hours...

An extreme sense of nausea had replaced his usual headache - why though?

Makoto, panting for air, takes one more look around. Sure enough, it was the classroom he had woken up in for the past thirty or so time loops. Steadying his trembling hand, he picks up the pamphlet and looks at it.

_"The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."_

"I'm back..." Makoto mutters to himself.

Panic starts to whell up inside of Makoto's heart. Did the time machine malfunction? Was he truly stuck here forever? Did his gamble fail?

_No. It's too early to assume that. Calm down. CALM DOWN._

Makoto starts slowly walking to the main hall while trying to calm his nerves.

_Maybe there won't be any time loops this time. Maybe we will be able to go outside. Yeah, that's what will happen. I'm saving my friends for the last time. Then, we all leave together._

Gathering up the rest of his courage, Makoto moves forwards to meet his classmates for the 'first' time.

* * *

"Let's put it to a vote, then." Mukuro, who had been staying silent ever since Junko woke up, suddenly speaks up.

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and STAY inside of this building?"

"..."

"Is there anyone here who would like to let Junko live, and go back into the outside world?"

11 hands shoot up right away - Makoto, Kyoko, Chihiro, Mondo, Ishimaru, Yamada, Sakura, Asahina, Sayaka, Leon, and Hagakure.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDD-"

"Is there anyone here who would like to kill Junko and then go back to the outside world?

After a small delay, 3 hands go up - Byakuya, Celeste, and Toko.

"... Fine. I would like to see nothing more then for Junko to pay for her crimes. I suppose it doesn't matter if she lives or dies." Byakuya recluclantly concedes.

"How nice. I share the same exact sentiment." Celeste giggles softly.

"I-I'm just voting for whatever Master Byakuya votes for..."

"You guys made your choice, huh? I have to admit, I'm happy that my sister won't be a casualty... Even if she betrayed me, I still love her. I'll make my way down there." With that, Monokuma shuts down, falling limply onto the floor."

"Oh yeah!" Chihiro suddenly gasps. "I forgot to mention that Alter Ego finished with the files... But I guess that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"We should analyze them later anyway." Mondo responds.

Kyoko gives a small smile. "Then it's time. Let's face the outside world once again."

"NO NO NO!" Junko thrashes around, biting at her binds. "My beautiful despair! I won't even taste the despair of death?!"

Sakura sighs, picking up Junko in one arm. "You will atone for your sins, Junko Enoshima."

He does it all again.

Everything the exact same. Sayaka, Leon, Chihiro, Mondo, Celeste, Yamada, Ishimaru, Sakura, Mukuro... For the umpteenth time, Makoto saves them all from dying horrible deaths.

But for the first time in a while, Makoto held true Hope within his heart. This was the last time he would be doing this. The time machine would have HAD to worked. He wasn't trapped in a time loop - he was free.

Makoto held on to the Hope that this was true. It was all he had.

Once again, Makoto stands in front of the locked door, remote in hand. Surrounding him are all of his friends. This was the final test - would he finally be free from this nightmare?

Steps echo behind Makoto and the other students.

"Oh, Mukuro! Are you ready to go?" Makoto asks expectantly.

Blushing slightly, Mukuro nods.

"Oh my FUCKING god, sis. Will you just ask him out already? Aren't soldier supposed to be BRAVE?" Junko snickers, still being held by Sakura.

"J-Junko!"

Makoto pats Mukuro on the shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly. "Just ignore her, Mukuro."

"R-Right..."

"Well... Does anyone have any objections? This is your last chance." Kyoko clears her throat and scans the small crowd.

"I still think that you guys should take revenge on me."

Other then Junko's scalding comment, no one else raises any objections.

"Very well."

Makoto grits his teeth as he holds up the remote.

I stopped Sayaka from trying to kill Leon...

Again.

I pushed Mukuro out of the way of the spears...

Again.

I kept Mondo's temper in check...

Again.

I managed to put a stop to Celeste's plans...

Again.

Sakura didn't try to commit suicide...

Again.

It was finally done. No one had died.

Again, and hopefully, for the last time. Makoto was absoloutely sick of that word.

'Again.'

"It's time." Kyoko nods at Makoto. "Will you do the honors?"

"Yeah..." Makoto suddenly shifts his eyes to meet Junko's.

She was grinning sadistically at Makoto. Her grin only widened when she sees Makoto looking at her.

Taking a deep breath, Makoto presses the button.

...

...

...

The door opened.

Bright lights came in from the outside world.

"Oh... OH..." Makoto starts shivering, accidentally dropping the remote in the process. Was he really free? Was this it?!

"I didn't go back in time..." Makoto pinches himself in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the other students are gaping at the scene in front of them - sure enough, the world had gone to shit. Buildings were destroyed, street fights raged on, helicopters were in the air, fires spread...

It was terrible.

But Makoto didn't care. He was free. He was free from this hellhole.

Several soldiers came rushing in to the school.

"Students of Hope's Peak Academy!" One of them says.

"We are the Future Foundation, the organization focused on rebuilding this world. Please, come with us. We shall offer you shelter and food."

No one responds. They were still too busy taking in the apparent apocalypse.

Makoto clumsily takes a step forwards. Nothing could describe the extreme sense of bliss that had blossomed inside of him. All of his hard work was finally paying off. He was free from the shackles of time!

"It is 8:59 AM in the morning, yet the sky is so dark!" Ishimaru suddenly reports, staring down at his watch. "Why is it also red?!"

"The sky turned like that when the Tragedy happened, remember bro?" Mondo responds.

"Oh! I suppose you're right. Sorry, my head is still mixed up after getting those memories." Ishimaru laughs sheepishly.

"Will you come with us?" One of the soldiers asks.

...

Makoto steps up, nodding. "I can't speak for everyone else, but I want to rebuild this world... I want to create Hope again."

"Then join the Future Foundation." The soldier says. "We were created for that purpose."

"I will." Makoto says, glancing back at his classmates. "Will you guys join me?"

...

"I promise to rebuild the world, in the name of the Togami Empire." Byakuya says, stepping forwards. "If joining this Future Foundation is the best way to do this, then so be it."

Kyoko nods and stands next to Makoto. "I would be glad to join the Future Foundation as well.

"If M-Master Byakuya is joining, then I will too!"

"Rebuild the world, hm? This sounds like the plot of an anime!"

One by one, the other students of Hope's Peak Academy joins Makoto. Makoto, who was being drained of his optimistic Hope, was being repaired. Slowly and gradually, he begins to feel things like the way he used to. Makoto's hollow soul fills with Hope.

At last, every student in the 78th class has stepped up to the challenge of rebuilding the world.

Every student aside from Mukuro and Junko, that is.

"Ugh. This sucks." Junko pouts from on top of Sakura's shoulder. "Do I really have to stay with you hopey dopeys?"

"Junko Enoshima, the person who masterminded this entire incident." The soldier states. "You will be placed under custody."

The soldier glances at Mukuro. "As her partner in crime, you will too."

"..."

"Come onnnnn, sis!" Junko starts flailing about. "Do your soldier stuff! Kill them!"

Mukuro's arm instinctively twitches towards her knife. She was so used to obeying Junko's orders without asking any questions that it was practically hard coded into her brain.

But...

She sees Makoto give her a pleading look.

...

"No. I submit to your arrest. I speak for my sister as well." Mukuro sighs and holds her both of her hands forwards to be cuffed.

The soldiers looked at each other, clearly not expecting for her to just surrender. Hesitantly, one steps forward and quickly handcuffs her. Another takes Junko from Sakura.

"Whaaaat?!" Junko snarls. "Kill them Mukuro!"

"... No."

Makoto smiles, giving her a thumbs up. Then, he looks at his friends. They were all alive. All 16 of them...

It was a tiring journey, but he had finally reached the end.

_You know what? It was worth it._

At last, he and his friends could all move forwards, to the future. What lay ahead was uncertain, but that was fine. In fact, having an uncertain future would be refreshing for Makoto.

It was time to rebuild the world.

* * *

***A/N* Well, that's it. Yeah, it was super short. (I warned you)**

**Now that you finished this fic, why don't you read the remaster? Like I said at the beginning of this story, it's a lot better.  
**


End file.
